Ather Electric Scooter Production Ends At Bangalore Plant
In order to expand its presence across the country, Ather needs to scale up its production considerably to meet required demands
At a time when most electric vehicles (EV) related technologies were foreign and barely within access, Ather Energy, an Indian startup, provided the necessary momentum to the EV segment in India by developing technologies and manufacturing vehicles on its own. Backed by big corporate houses such as Hero MotoCorp and Flipkart, the brand has come a long way in the Indian automotive scene.
The company started its production at a facility based out of Bangalore and will now shift to Hosur in Tamil Nadu. Spread across 4,00,000 square feet, Ather hopes that this new plant in Hosur will produce 1,00,000 units of electric two-wheelers annually in the coming years.
Enhanced Production Capacity
Sharing a picture on his Twitter handle, Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy, said the new facility will drastically increase rate of production. With this new manufacturing facility, Ather can transit from a startup to an established two-wheeler brand in the EV segment in India. The company currently has 450X and 450 Plus in its product portfolio.
Recently, the last batch of Ather 450 rolled out of its facility in Whitefield outside Bangalore before being discontinued altogether. The low sales volume of 450 was a result of a combination of lack of availability, high pricing and sparse charging network.
Tweet from Ather CEO
Ather launched the 450 initially in just two cities- Bangalore and Chennai. Ather 450X and 450 Plus will be made available across 27 cities in the country by late 2021. This should help the manufacturer reach its target sales volume.
Setting up a new facility will help Ather ramp up production to 3,000 units per month initially and then increase it to 8,000 units per month by the first half of next year. Initially, Ather averaged just 300 units from its Bangalore facility.
Besides manufacturing electric scooters, Ather will also focus on developing batteries, with imported Lithium-Ion cells at the site. The same facility will also be used to develop Ather’s first electric motorcycle although it is still some time away.
Benefits Enjoyed By EVs in Tamil Nadu
Further, relocating the facility to Tamil Nadu will make the company eligible for all the benefits as per the state’s EV policy. This will enable Ather to enjoy benefit such as 100% exemptions on electricity tax to all EV related industries in the state, till 31st December 2025. Alongside, companies are also entitled to stamp duty exemption for the purchase of land to set up factories.
Ather recently started deliveries of 450X last month. The scooter was launched earlier in January this year and has been priced at Rs 1.59 lakh (ex-showroom). The 450X is powered by a 2.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which is paired with an electric motor generating 6kW/28 Nm and can return a single-charge range of 116 km.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
