New Delhi: Hero MotoCorp-backed electric two-wheeler startup Ather Energy, which will launch its first electric scooter S340 on June 5, has lined up an investment of about Rs 130 crore to set up charging infrastructure in 30 cities by 2022.After the Bengaluru launch, the company has plans to be present in 12 major cities by 2020 and 30 cities by 2022 with 6,500 charging points, starting with Chennai and Pune, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.
"The total investment on setting up charging infrastruture over the next four years will be around Rs 130 crore," Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder, Ather Energy told ETAuto.
In each city, about 200 charging stations will be installed in one year.
The Bengaluru-based company has already installed 17 points in the city and looks to scale it up to 60 points by the end of this year.
The charging points, which will be installed at malls, prominent restaurants, tech parks, multiplexes and gyms, can also be used by some of the electric cars depending on the battery capacity.
The company, which is also backed by Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, last month launched their charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs), called AtherGrid.
Mehta said the charging facility will remain free for the first six months for non-Ather customers.
Post the free charging period, an amount per unit will be charged, which could be as less as Rs 6.
Ather Energy claims a top speed of 72 kmph and a range of up to 60 km for its scooter S340.
By Pritish Raj