Electric two-wheeler startup, Ather Energy, is looking to begin exports in this fiscal year. The company says its focus will be on South-East Asia as there is a strong demand for electric two-wheelers from that region along with few European markets like UK and Italy. The company would have already started exporting had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit businesses around the world. The Bengaluru-based company will begin manufacturing from its new Hosur plant in December 2020 and is looking to expand operations in new cities across India along with focussing on exports. The new manufacturing facility in Hosur will have a production capacity of 100,000 units per year and if need be, the company can scale up the production to 500,000 units per year as well. It will be the hub for manufacturing the Ather 450X electric scooter.
Also Read: Ather Introduces Referral Program for Ather 450 Scooter Owners
(Ather is looking to begin exports to South-East Asia this fiscal, along with a few markets in Europe as well.)
The company recently announced a referral program for existing customers in a bid to entice new buyers. The company will offer monetary benefits to new and existing owners up till ₹ 2,500 when current owners share a referral code with their family, friends and acquaintances to purchase the Ather 450. The new program is currently live in Bengaluru and Chennai, but we expect the company to extend the offer in other cities as well, as it expands operations later in 2020.
(The new plant in Hosur will be a manufacturing hub for the Ather 450X )
The company is also securing funding in order to build up capacity and for operations expansion along with research and development. Hero MotoCorp invested ₹ 84 crore in Ather, increasing its stake from 31.27 per cent to 34.58 per cent in Series C round of funding in July 2020. In fact, Hero, the world's biggest two-wheeler company had invested ₹ 205 crore in 2016 at the Series B round of funding.
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