Ather Energy, India’s fourth-largest electric scooter maker, on Wednesday announced plans to set up its third manufacturing facility in Bidkin, AURIC, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra. This new facility will manufacture both electric two-wheelers and battery packs.
The Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) startup currently has two manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, one dedicated to battery production and the other for vehicle assembly. The current facilities will continue to produce battery packs and vehicles.
The new facility in Maharashtra allows Ather to get closer to more markets in the country by reducing its logistics cost and hastening the delivery of its finished products to its customers.
"Maharashtra offers a conducive business environment and continues to be a top destination for investments. This is in line with our honourable PM Shri. Narendra Modiji’s vision to strengthen India’s startup and manufacturing ecosystem, aiming to match or surpass global counterparts. We are happy to have Ather in Maharashtra, solidifying the state’s position as India’s leading automotive and manufacturing hub,” says Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister, Maharashtra.
The investment will be more than ₹2,000 crore, generating around 4000 jobs, Fadnavis says in a post on X.
Ather competes with Ola Electric and well established legacy two-wheeler players such as TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto, all of these have a wide retail network across the country.
As the demand for electric two-wheelers is increasing, Ather Energy has been focusing on increasing its production capacity, expanding its product portfolio, retail outlets, and charging infrastructure across the country. Ather currently has over 200 experience centres and over 1900 fast chargers, Ather Grids across India.
Ather is known for its performance scooters in the 450 platform - 450X, 450S and 450 Apex. Ather Energy recently launched its first family scooter, Rizta in April.
The announcement comes days after Hero MotoCorp pumped an additional ₹124 crore into Ather Energy to purchase shares from an existing shareholder for acquisition of up to 2.2% stake. India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp previously owned 39.7% stake in the startup.
Ather Energy clocked 6,045 vehicle registrations in May, up 47% compared with 4,117 over the previous month.
Electric two-wheeler registrations in India hit a low of 65,111 in April from a high of 1,39,531 in March before the subsidy amount was slashed under the new ₹500-crore Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) scheme. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme expired in March this year, leading to a spike in sales in March as customers rushed to buy E2Ws at cheaper prices. Under the new scheme, which will run for four months till July 31, 2024, the government has lowered the maximum subsidy cap on e2W to ₹10,000 per vehicle from ₹22,500 earlier.
