Electric scooter maker Ather Energy in expansion mode

We are expecting to have 500 fast chargers across the country by the end of FY 22: Ather Energy CEO and Co-founder Tarun Mehta

Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy is on an expansion spree on many fronts even as the company has consolidated its position in the Indian market.

“In 2020, we launched the 450 X, which was an improvement on the 450. We had to wait for a while with Covid last year. But in November last year, we started opening up sales all over India. Today, we are present in 13 cities. We are adding a city almost a week. We are looking at 50 cities by the end of the financial year," said Ather Energy CEO and Co-founder Tarun Mehta.

“We are also expanding our charging infrastructure at a furious pace. We now have 140 fast chargers present across the country and in 22 cities. Till October last year, we had some 30-40 fast chargers in Bengaluru and Chennai. We are adding one fast charger almost every day now. We are expecting to have 500 fast chargers across the country by the end of FY 22," he explained.

The company has also begun production in its new plant in Hosur. “The first milestone was the Bengaluru factory in 2018, with a capacity of 750 per month in 2019. In 2020, the number went up ton 1750. In 2021, we set up our Hosur plant, and with this our capacity has gone up to 9200 per month," he said.

The Hosur plant has two battery lines and one for scooters. Mehta said: “This is one of the largest automotive lithium ion battery manufacturing plants in India with an annual capacity of 1.2 lakh units and expanding to almost half a million units by next year. So, we have one vehicle line and two battery lines. The overall investment is already committed to Rs 130 crores and a five-year plan of Rs 650 crores for this plant alone which will ramp up the capacity to half a million units.”

Elaborating on products made in India, Mehta said: “We seem to believe that a product cannot be made in India. It is a flawed ideology and principle. This eventually leads to bad products and not good fits for the Indian consumer. With that principle, we have developed the 450 in India ground up in India. And the entire R&D happens in India. We have 300 people for R&D for this product alone in our Bengaluru office. We have also setup the supply chain for this in India. Apart from the cells, everything is made in India."

Mehta also clarified that the current products 450 X and 450 Plus will get variants next year.