The company plans to expand its presence in over 30 cities with more than 6,500 charging stations by 2030.
Bengaluru based e-scooter manufacturer, Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. recently raised $51 million through a latest funding round which was reportedly led by Sachin Bansal (Flipkart Co-Founder) who invested around $32 million, followed by Indian automaker Hero MotoCorp Ltd.’s $19 million in convertible debt, and venture leading firm InnoVen Capital which added an $8-million venture debt.
As per a statement, Tarun Mehta, CEO & Co-Founder, Ather Energy, said that the company will use this investment to expand to new cities, and enhance its manufacturing capacity & supply chain network. He said that their electric scooters, currently available in Bengaluru, will soon be launched in Chennai followed by some other cities in India.
Adding further, Mehta said that the firm aims to produce 20,000 to 25,000 scooters a year through its own manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.
According to reliable sources, Ather Energy plans to expand its product portfolio, which currently comprises of just two scooter models, namely the Ather 340 (priced at $1,600) and 450 ($1,770). Moreover, by 2023, Ather aims on expanding its presence to over 30 cities with over 6,500 charging stations, up from 38 and production capacity is aimed to be increased to a million scooters a year.
The company claims that it’s Ather 450 owners, in the past 6 months, have clocked over 6 lakh km in Bengaluru while its Ather Grid network currently runs 31 fast charging stations in Bengaluru and 7 fast charging points in Chennai.
Being a connected scooter, Ather 450 has attained several OTA (over-the-air) updates since September 2018, adding features like guide-me-home lights and new ride modes, making the electric scooter one of the fastest iteration cycles in India.
As per Mehta, e-scooters are a good fit for ride-hailing firms and their firm would likely be a part of it at a later stage. However, for now, the company will stick to its B2C (business to consumer) play, he said.
Source Credit: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ather-energy-raises-51-million-funding-round-led-sachin-bansal-102550
https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/28/india-ather-energy-51-million-fund/