Ather Energy

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Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd.
Industry
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Founder(s)Tarun Mehta
Swapnil Jain[1]
HeadquartersBangalore, Karnataka, India
Products
Production output
40,000 vehicles (2019)
Websitehttps://www.atherenergy.com/
Footnotes / references
[2]

Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian electric vehicle company founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013. It manufactures two electric scooters - the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus. It has also established electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country called Ather Grid.

History[edit]

Ather Energy was founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. In early 2014, it received ₹4.5 million (US$63,000) from the Technology Development Board under Department of Science and Technology, IIT Madras and Srini V Srinivasan, IIT alumnus and founder of Aerospike.[3] In December 2014, Flipkart founders, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal invested $1 million as the seed capital.[4] Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal expressed a positive sentiment towards the company and showed inclination towards energy-efficient vehicles. In May 2015, it received $12 million from Tiger Global for investments in development, testing, production and the launch of the vehicle.[5]

On 23 February 2016, the company unveiled its first scooter S340 at a technology conference Surge in Bangalore.[6][7] Hero MotoCorp invested $27 Mn (INR 180 Cr) in the Series B round of funding in October 2016. It invested again in 2018 to the tune of ₹130 crore (US$18 million).[8][9]

In May 2019 Ather Energy raised an investment of $51 million in its latest round of funding, led by Sachin Bansal’s investment of $32 million. Ather Energy was one of the earliest start-up investments of Sachin Bansal when he invested $0.5 million in the firm as an Angel investor in 2014. Hero MotoCorp has converted its Convertible Debt of $19 million as a part of this round. In addition to this, InnoVen Capital has extended an $8 million venture debt.[10]

In December 2019, Ather Energy signed a MoU with Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) manufacturing plant for electrical vehicles in Hosur. The invested amount will be around ₹635 crore (US$89 million)[11][12]

The company added two new products to its portfolio, the Ather 450X & the Ather 450 Plus in January 2020.[13]

In July 2020 Ather Energy raised $11.4 million from Hero MotoCorp, as a part of its Series C round funding.[14] In November 2020, Ather Energy raised a fresh round of fund of US $35 million (Rs 260 crore) as a part of Series D round led by Sachin Bansal’s investment of $23 million (Rs 170 crore) and $12 million by Hero MotoCorp.[15]

Production and sale[edit]

Ather Energy began operations at its production facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, on January 2, 2021.[16] The new Ather factory has an annual capacity of 1,10,000 scooters and 1,20,000 battery packs.[17] The company currently has a presence in 27 cities across 15 states.[18]

Ather Energy also establishes Ather Grid, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure in cities it is present in. The company has set up over 120 fast charging points in 18 cities across India as of March 2021.

Ather 450X[edit]

Ather 450X has a 4G sim card and Wifi along with Bluetooth connectivity and the new 7” touchscreen dashboard, comes with a color depth of 16M and a Snapdragon Quad Core processor. Ather 450X utilises Android Open Source to offer map navigation, On-board diagnostics and features like Over-the-air updates, Auto Indicator off and Guide-me-home lights.

The Ather mobile app offers personalised ride statistics, charging status, push navigation and more functionalities like theft & tow detection, live location & vehicle state tracking, voice assistant and welcome lights. Ather 450X supports connected accessories like smart helmets and tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).[19]

Ather 450X Series 1[edit]

Ather Energy started deliveries of its latest Ather 450X Series 1 from November 2020.

Ather 450[edit]

Main article: Ather 450

The Ather 450 is constructed using an all-aluminium frame, comes with a 5.4 kW (7.2 BHP) Brushless DC electric motor, and a 2.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The scooter can accelerate to 40 km/h in 3.9 seconds, attain a top speed of 80 km/h, and can travel 75 km on one charge in city-riding conditions (107 km in the Indian driving cycle).

Ather Energy also offers an upgraded version of Ather 450 called the Ather 450 Plus which has a top speed of 70 kmph and a True Range of 70 km in Eco mode. The Ather 450 Plus offers 4G connectivity, onboard navigation, and other connected features but does not have Bluetooth connectivity and the Warp mode.

OTA Updates[edit]

Ather Energy is one of the few companies in the automotive space that provides over-the-air (OTA) updates . With each update the functionality, responsiveness and reliability of the electric scooter improves. Ather Energy has rolled out 13 OTA updates till date.[20]

Ather Grid[edit]

Ather has set up its own charging network, dubbed Ather Grid, in 18 cities across India. These DC-fast-charging stations use Ather's proprietary charging method and connector to charge the Ather scooters at a rate of 1 km/min. The charging points are also equipped with a 3-pin socket to supply AC power to other electric vehicles that do not use Ather's connector. Other vehicles can connect to the charging point and start charging using the Ather Grid app for iOS and Android.[21]

More than 120 fast charging grid points are installed across 18 Cities in India. Ather has plans to set up around 300 fast charging stations across India by end of 2021. Ather also sets up a home charging point at customer's homes which will charge the Ather 450X overnight.

Ather Space[edit]

Ather Energy owns and operates its own Experience Centers. Ather currently has 7 Experience centers in India.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Tarun Mehta & Swapnil Jain: Electrifying Scooters". Forbes India.
  2. ↑ "Ather Energy To Set Up New Factory, Increase Production Capacity". NDTV. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Flipkart founders invest $1 million in Ather Energy". The Hindu.
  4. ↑ "Flipkart founders lead $1M investment in electric scooter startup Ather Energy". Tech Crunch.
  5. ↑ "Bansals backed Ather Energy raises $12M from Tiger Global". Business Standard.
  6. ↑ "Ather Energy showcases S340, 'India's first smart scooter' at Surge 2016- Technology News, Firstpost". Tech2. 25 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "5,000+ attendees from 72 countries on their way to SURGE". SurgeConf.
  8. ↑ "Hero MotoCorp To Invest Up To ₹ 205 Crore In Ather Energy". NDTV Auto.
  9. ↑ "Hero MotoCorp to refuel Ather Energy with $19 mn". VCCircle. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "India's Ather Energy raises $51 million to grow its electric scooters business". TechCrunch. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Ather Energy to set up electric vehicle manufacturing facility at Hosur in TN - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Ather 450 to roll out of new Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu". Autocar India. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "Ather Energy launches its second e-scooter 450X at Rs 1.5 lakh, enters Delhi market in July". www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ather Energy gets fresh funding of Rs 84 crore more from Hero MotoCorp". Autocar Professional.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ↑ "Ather Energy raises Rs 260 crore in latest round of funding". Autocar India.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ↑ "Ather Energy Hosur Plant Visit – A Peek into the Future of Electric Scooters in India". News 18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ "Ather rides on fresh demand for electric vehicles". Financial Express.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ↑ "Inside Ather Energy's Manufacturing Facility: 1 Scooter Built Every 4 Minutes". Car and Bike.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ "Ather 450X First Ride Review". OVERDRIVE.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ "OTA Updates".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ↑ "Ather Energy unveils its charging infrastructure network AtherGrid". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

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