Chennai, NFAPost: Tarun Mehta along with his fellow student Swapnil Jain conceptualised and started ‘Ather Energy’ in April 2013. Now, Ather Energy is a well-known intelligent electric vehicle brand in India.
Backed by the founders of Flipkart- Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal- Hero Motocorp and Tiger Global, Ather Energy has taken a slew of measures to expand its presence across the country.
It has signed an MoU for a 4,00,000 square feet electric vehicle manufacturing facility with the Tamil Nadu government. The facility will not only cater to the EV manufacturing demand but also for Ather’s lithium-ion battery manufacturing, which is a key area of focus for the company going ahead.
The company said the new facility will create more job opportunities. More than 4,000 employees will be trained in requisite skills in the EV sector.
Expansion plan
As part of phase 2 of expansion, Ather Energy has announced the launch of the Ather 450X in 16 additional cities – Mysore, Hubli, Jaipur, Indore, Panaji, Bhubaneshwar, Nasik, Surat, Chandigarh, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, Nagpur, Noida, Lucknow and Siliguri.
The overwhelming demand for Ather Energy’s products, dealership requests, and also the volume of requests for test rides has led Ather Energy to include these new markets in Phase 2 of their expansion.
Ather Energy is now fast tracking its plans to meet the national demand for the vehicle and by Q1 2021, Ather 450X will be available across 27 cities in India.
Ather will be opening up in these cities in a staggered manner by Q1 2021 and will begin by setting up test rides to let consumers experience the vehicle. Ather has also been talking to prospective retail partners in these markets and has already begun locating spaces to set up its fast EV charging network, Ather Grid. In the 11 markets that Ather has presence in, more than 60 charging points are already installed with more in the pipeline.
Ather Energy Chief Business Officer Ravneet Singh Phokela said, “We are really excited about adding 16 new markets and we look forward to establishing ourselves in these cities in the coming months. This expansion is the result of the strong demand from the consumers, dealerships and also, the test ride requests that we have received since the launch of Ather 450X.”
Ather Energy always strives to build futuristic electric two-wheelers which boast of superior technology and innovative solutions to make the switch to electric easier for the consumers. “We aim to introduce Ather products across the country and fulfill the needs of consumers by providing a premium offering,” he added.
The Ather 450X is an upgrade from its predecessor Ather 450 and is the quickest and one of the smartest scooters in India, and comes in three new colors; Grey, Green, and White. The scooter is powered with a 6kW PMSM motor, a new 2.9 kWh lithium-ion battery, and comes with 4 riding modes.
In addition to Eco, Ride, and Sport, Ather has introduced a new high-performance mode, ‘Warp’. Ather 450X can go from 0 to 40 kmph in just 3.3 sec in Warp mode, making it the quickest scooter in the 125cc category and the perfect choice to navigate through city traffic. The Ather 450X will also charge 50% faster than before at 1.5km per minute, making it the fastest charging rate in the electric two-wheeler category.
Additionally, the electric scooter will have a 4G SIM card and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing riders to manage phone calls and music on the touchscreen dashboard.
Fundraising
In November, Ather Energy raised an investment of $35 million in its latest round of Series D led by Sachin Bansal’s investment of $23 million.
Ather Energy was one of the earliest startup investments of Sachin Bansal when he invested $0.5 million in the firm as an Angel investor in 2014 and with this round, has made a total investment of $53 million. Hero MotoCorp has also invested $12 million as a part of the Series D round in Ather Energy.
Ather Energy Co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta said, “Electric vehicles are here to stay and Ather Energy is playing a leading role in driving this change.”
The pandemic has changed the landscape of personal transport and we hope that with high performance alternatives available people will choose electric vehicles for their daily commute, he added.
The company’s product line has won 30 awards in design, automotive and technology categories. With over 60 Indian and international patent applications, 109 trademarks and 118 Indian and International design registrations to its name, Ather Energy aims to provide consumers with the best possible ownership experience.
