Hyderabad: Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy is planning to spread its presence to 40 cities by the end of 2021. The company which has experience centres in Bengaluru and Chennai is going to add 25 centres in another 25 cities by the end of June 2021, with one centre in each city. It will also have 500 charging points by year-end.
Ather is speeding up plans to meet the national demand for the electric vehicle and by Q1 2021, Ather 450X will be available across 27 cities in India, expanding from the nine markets it currently operates.
Tarun Mehta, CEO, Ather Energy told Telangana Today, “We are entering into several markets this quarter and we will also be aggressive in the coming quarters. Towards the end of 2021, we will be spreading into 40 cities. We are seeing a growing interest from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In 2020 alone, we have received 11,000 retailer applications from across the country. In Hyderabad, we have partnered with Pride Motors to open an experience centre. The city is going to be among our top three markets in India.”
“In the second phase of expansion that we are currently in, we are spreading our presence across tier-2 cities in the country. There is a good potential in the tier-3 markets. The company will deepen its ties with franchise retail partners going forward rather than creating more company owned outlets.” he added.
The company has been discussing with prospective retail partners in the new markets and has already begun identifying spaces to set up its fast EV charging network, Ather Grid. Mehta informed, “In the existing markets, there are close to 100 charging points installed with another 100 being in the pipeline targeted for the next 3-4 months and we plan to have 500 points by the end of 2021.”
The company’s electric scooter currently comes with a 4G SIM card and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing riders to manage phone calls and music on the touchscreen dashboard. When asked if the company will pilot 5G network when it is ready, Mehta said, “Once the 5G technology is stabilised and we see a reasonable network in our target cities, we will migrate to it. For at least 1-2 years, we may focus on 4G but we will see how infrastructure for 5G shapes up in the country in future.”
Ather has over 60 Indian and international patent applications, 109 trademarks and 118 Indian and international design registrations.
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