Ather Energy expands capacity, new plant to go on stream in 2022

Ather Energy has commissioned its second manufacturing facility in Hosur, which is slated to be ready by 2022. The company plans to manufacture 400,000 units per annum while the current capacity is at 120,000 units. Ather, had earlier this year, set up its first plant in Hosur.

Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy said, “Customers are coming in expecting electric scooters to wow them. This customer expectation is why our 450 series of electric scooters – the 450X and 450 Plus – is seeing massive demand as it is the best electric scooter in the country today. Our experience centres are scaling up rapidly, and our retail footprint is set to grow by six times in the coming quarters. So, within just ten months of opening our current facility, we find ourselves already operating at full capacity. We are commissioning the second plant to be ready for 2022. With this capacity expansion, Ather is well on its way to becoming the country's largest EV producer by next year.”

Ather Energy plans to strengthen its retail operations by expanding to new markets. The company plans to open around 150 Experience Centres across 100 cities by March, 2023. It inaugurated its first experience centre in Bengaluru in June 2018 and later expanded its base with a bigger experience centre in Chennai. Earlier this year, new outlets came up in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad. 

In October, Ather Energy registered a 12-fold growth over last year and achieved a revenue run rate of $100 million. The company said that they have been registering 20 percent month-on-month sales growth since November, 2020. They also recorded a 3X increase in walk-ins, web inquiries and test rides between April-October 2021 and a 4X growth in vehicle booking during the same period.