Electric, And How!

Because Ather Energy has built its electric scooters from scratch, it is defining what an electric two-wheeler is capable of being

- Harichandan Arakali

When we started Ather, five years ago, it was a daunting challenge that we were preparing ourselves for—that we will build this cool vehicle, but most people will come in with the expectation that ‘electric isn’t fun and it will be a poor experience,’” says Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Bengaluru’s Ather Energy. “And we were preparing ourselves to educate potential customers about Ather’s scooters.”

Five years on, customers have surprised Mehta, and co-founder and CTO Swapnil Jain, by opting mostly for the more expensive Ather 450 (₹1,13,715 on-road in Bengaluru) over the cheaper Ather 340 (₹1,02,460). It is a sign that electric vehicles (EVs) are being seen as genuine upgrades, Mehta adds. Because he is betting on the electric scooter market really taking off in India in the next few years—the company, however, does not divulge its sales figure—Ather is investing in a new factory to manufacture close to half a million scooters a year. At present, their Bengaluru factory has a capacity of 30,000 units a year. The new factory is expected to be in one of the southern Indian states.

The key to Ather’s success will be its product development prowess and after-sales customer experience, with features such as unobtrusive software updates on the go, says Mehta. He adds that more upfront investments in deep research and development [R&D] will be needed in the country—as against just selling imported scooters— if India aspires to build a strong ecosystem of EV manufacturing.