Ather Energy – Delivering India’s First Smart and Electric Scooter

More often that not, innovations in India lean towards the e commerce or service sectors, with multiple startups springing up in these avenues.  In a world which is increasingly becoming conscious about greenhouse emissions, carbon footprints and renewable energy, corporations like Tesla and Nissan are at the forefront of innovation to tackle the aforementioned issues.

However, a scrappy startup from India named Ather Energy is looking to change the game in the Indian market with their smart scooter, the Ather 450.  This scooter is completely electric and runs on a Lithium ion battery. Considering India is the world’s biggest market for two wheelers, this startup aims to make inroads into the market by educating the public about the benefits of using an electric vehicle.

Beginnings

Ather Energy was founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013, both of whom are alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM.)  Before starting Ather Energy, they worked at Ashok Leyland and General Motors respectively, both of which are automakers. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Mehta and Swapnil decided to venture into the automotive industry with Ather Energy.

After leaving their jobs, the duo returned to their alma mater (IITM) to work on an efficient Lithium ion battery pack, which in turn paved the way to their first product, the Ather-S340.  This vehicle had a digital touchscreen dashboard, a light chassis and the capability to reach speeds upto 75 kmph.

Funding and growth

Starting up in uncharted territories is no easy task and requires funding as well.  The same was the case with Ather Energy as they had no resources to begin with, especially working in the laboratories of IITM.  However, as luck would have it, Ather Energy received a grant of Rs. 45 lakhs from the Technology Development Board under the Department of Science and Technology, IITM.

Most of the initial funding went towards testing and funds became short once again.  With investors not willing to take a risk with Ather Energy, Mehta and Swapnil turned to Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, the founders of Flipkart.  Ather Energy got its first major funding from the Bansal brothers in the form of a million dollar investment.

Ather Energy’s biggest break came in 2015, when venture capital firm Tiger Global invested 12 million dollars.  This funding allowed the founders to invest in developing, testing, producing and launching their first electric scooter, the Ather-S340.

However, when the Ather-S340 was released in the market, it saw low demand, with customers showing interest in the Ather 450, a higher powered and premium offering.  This led to Ather Energy discontinuing the entry level offering Ather-S340 and instead working on the Ather 450.

The future

Hero MotoCorp, an Indian scooter/motorcycle manufacturer, was looking to make inroads into the electric vehicle industry.  Therefore, the Company invested 30 million dollars to own a 30 % stake in Ather Energy and also to work on their own line up of electric bikes.  This partnership is mutually beneficial as Hero MotoCorp can leverage Ather’s homegrown technology and participate in the electric vehicle space as well as pursue their internal program.  Ather Energy, on the other hand, can utilise Hero MotoCorp’s distribution network.

Ather Energy also opened experience centers, which are basically spaces which educate people and customers about electric vehicles and also provide holistic interactive experiences.  Ather Energy also has plans to open experience centers in tier 1 cities like Hyderabad and Mumbai. Currently, these experience centers are limited to Chennai and Bangalore.

Ather Energy also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tamil Nadu Government to set up a factory capable of producing 100,000 units of vehicles.  This is in addition to the already existing 25,000 unit capacity plant operational in Bengaluru.

The Indian Government is also taking electric vehicles seriously and it reflected in the Budget for 2019 when the Government slashed the Goods and Services Tax on electric vehicles from 12 % to 5 %.

Ather Energy’s latest models, the Ather 450 and the Ather 450X, are seeing a lot of demand from customers, with steady pre orders rolling in.  Ather Energy, with its smart screen technology which has regular Over the Air (OTA) updates, aims to enhance the user experience.

The Ather 450 has features like navigation, reverse gear, fast charging upto 80 % at 1 km per minute and retails at a price of Rs. 1,23,230 in Bangalore.

It will be great to see Ather Energy’s products on Indian streets as the awareness amongst the Indian public regarding the various benefits of electric vehicles increases.