When Ather started its operations in 2013, people were saying that electronic vehicles are not good. They will not last long. Customers will not be having a good experience. The current popularity of electronic vehicles proved them wrong. The company has established one of the biggest electronic charging infrastructures in India. Earlier, it has the majority of operations in Bengaluru and Chennai. Now, it has also started developing its infrastructure in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, and Kolkata.
Impact of Ather Energy on Electronic Vehicle Ecosystem
In the coming years, electronic vehicle infrastructure in India will grow exponentially. Not only the private sectors, but the state government also supporting the electronic vehicle infrastructure. The state governments are bringing favorable laws for e-vehicles growth.
In a boost to the electronic vehicle initiatives, the Delhi government has brought a law to exempt battery vehicles from paying road tax. It is a big move to popularize electronic vehicles.
India is lacking electronic charging infrastructures. This is the biggest hurdle India is facing right now. Ather Energy is committed to narrow down this charging infrastructure gap.
Ather Energy was founded 9 years back and has the first-mover advantage in the electronic vehicle industry. The company is proud to establish an electric vehicle ecosystem in India and is considered one of the key players in the electronic scooter market of India.
Ather Energy is not providing the electric infrastructure only for it’s vehicles. The company says that the electric charging infrastructure of Ather can be used by any other manufacturer’s two-wheelers and four-wheelers products.
The company also revealed that its two wheeler model Ather 450X will take only 10 minutes to get fully charged at its charging points.
Ravneet Phokela, chief business officer, Ather Energy, said:
“What the market needs right now is more visibility of the charging infrastructure. With increased visibility comes mental comfort, curbing range anxiety. We do not need the density like petrol or CNG gas stations but increased accessibility and faster charging speeds.”
He further added:
“It’s a huge investment and we believe it’s a necessary one to improve the adoption of EVs in India.”
Currently, Indian customers are a bit hesitated to buy electronic vehicles due to the limited charging infrastructure. Analysts believe that there will be a big revolution in electronic vehicles in India.
Avendus Capital, one of the major investors in the startups, did a research related to electronic vehicles market in India. The company found that India will be having an electric vehicles market worth Rs 50000 crore by 2025. The report suggested that the two-wheelers electronic market will be having a 9% penetration by 2024-25.
Experts also revealed that electric two-wheelers saw a growth of more than 20% in the FY2020 compare to the last year. Overall, the industry sold 152000 units in FY2020.
Future Plans and Financial Growth of Ather Energy
Ather Energy has plans to install 6500+ charging points by 2022. On the other hand, some electric vehicle manufacturers have found the alternative solutions. They are dependant on the modular batteries that can be charged at home. They are providing the necessary items for home charging.
Sohinder Gill, director general, Society of Manufactures of Electric Vehicles, says:
“One word of caution here is the need of standardisation of the charging sockets, plugs and the protocols so that the network is generic and usable for everyone. Easily accessible charging stations in enough density would indeed support electric mobility, particularly the e-car segment.”
He further added:
“In two wheelers, e-bikes having fixed batteries cannot be charged in apartments or parking areas that have no access to a private power point. Such e-bikes would also need charging infrastructure in order to accelerate the adoption.”
In a latest funding round in November 2020, Ather Energey has raised $35 million led by Sachin Bansal, cofounder of Flipkart. Hero Motocorp also invested $12 million in Ather Energy in the D round of funding.
Talking about Sachin investment in Ather, Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy, said:
“Electric vehicles are here to stay and Ather Energy is playing a leading role in driving this change. Sachin has been part of our growth journey and this investment is a strong endorsement of the momentum we’ve built over these years.”
Currently, Ather energy has a revenue of $212.2 million per year. It raised a total of $140 million in different funding round. It has a current valuation of Rs 1405 crore. The company launched 450X scooter with a price tag of Rs 1.25 lakhs in 2018. Ather reported a loss of Rs 220 crore in FY2020.
