₹99,999 Konarc Has Better Margins Than Rizta: Ather CBO

Ather Energy’s new Konarc has better margins than the Rizta despite carrying a starting price of ₹99,999, according to Chief Business Officer Ravneet Phokela, who says the economics are supported by the lower cost structure of the company’s new EL platform.

Asked whether the Konarc could deliver margins at least comparable with the Rizta, Phokela told Autocar Professional: “I’m saying better margins.”

EL Platform Architecture

The Konarc portfolio will comprise five products or variants, with four positioned around similar price points as the Rizta, according to Phokela. The lower-cost EL architecture allows Ather to offer an entry product at ₹99,999 without sacrificing profitability.

“We don’t want to compromise on either the product or profitability. We can only price something low if the cost structure supports that low price,” he said.

“This is not a price fighter. It is a profitable product in its own right,” Phokela added. “We don’t have to cap how much we sell. Whatever the market needs, we’ll keep hitting because it’s profitable.”

Some of the biggest savings on the EL platform come from changes to the vehicle architecture. Ather has moved from an aluminium chassis to a tubular steel chassis and from a two-stage belt transmission to a gearbox. The charger and motor controller have also been combined into a single unit.

Phokela said the clean-sheet EL architecture allowed Ather to incorporate learnings accumulated since developing the 450 platform that could not necessarily be introduced into an existing architecture.

450 Base ‘Overkill’ for Rizta

He described the 450 platform as appropriate for the performance-oriented 450 but “overkill” for the family-focused Rizta, which had to use the existing architecture to meet its development timeline.

“The 450 is the right platform for a 450 kind of product. It’s an overkill for Rizta,” Phokela said.

The EL platform, in contrast, was conceived from the outset as a simpler architecture with a fundamentally lower cost structure.