Policy on charging units at houses can boost sales of EV: Ather CEO

Ather Energy Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tarun Mehta lamented that Karnataka, which houses one of the highest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hubs, supply chains and start-ups; surprisingly Karnataka is the only State, which does not have a local incentive policy.

Speaking to media persons after launching the company’s fourth experience centre in Karnataka at Bhairidevarkoppa, Hubballi on Wednesday, he said Ather Energy is adding fast charging units across Karnataka. However, what the EV manufactures are seeking is a policy from the government that makes charging units compulsory at individual houses, apartments and every parking slot.

“Governments have provided incentives for EVs, which is why the prices of the vehicles have come down. If the governments can come up with policies regarding individual charging units, it can benefit the customers and manufactures alike,” he said.

Speaking about the sales of his vehicles, Tarun said that there is a huge demand for the two-wheeler EV in tire-two and tire-three cities. On average, we are witnessing a 20% increase in our sales every month and are falling short on the supply side. “In the next three months we are adding an additional manufacturing line to increase the production of vehicles to 10,000 units per month,” he said and added that the company is also planning to introduce variants of its successful Ather 450 plus and 450X models.

Responding to a query on the high price of the vehicles, Tarun said that their products are competing with vehicles in the 125 cc to 150 cc range (which costs about Rs 1.2 lakh) and the company knows that there is a demand for EV that could compete in below 110 cc range. “We are in a process to add new portfolios into our segments that could perfectly fit into this segment in the next couple of years,” he said and added that Ather is as of now concentrating only on electric scooters and bikes.

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