Bengaluru-based Ather Energy to invest Rs 2,000 crore in new facility in Maharashtra

Ather team with Maharashtra Deputy CM Fadnavis

Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy is setting up its new and third  manufacturing facility in Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) in Maharashtra with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, the state's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on X on June 26.

"Welcome to Maharashtra, Ather ! Just got done with a meeting with the Founder of Ather Energy, Shri Swapnil Jain...It is a more than Rs 2000 crore investment, generating employment of around 4000," he wrote on X.

Last year, the Ather's cofounder Tarun Mehta told Moneycontrol that the firm delayed capacity creation due to macroeconomic pressure.

“We were looking to increase our capacity, we were in the planning stage, however, the industry encountered a slowdown with subsidy being reduced… So we delayed signing up new capacity creation. The current capacity is sufficient for this year and probably early next year as well,” Mehta said last year.

Ather has two facilities in Hosur in Tamil Nadu and the firm was looking to finalise setting up another facility.

Ather Energy in 2024, ramped up its production by around four times to 4.20 lakh electric vehicles per annum through its new capacity inaugurated in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, with a total investment of Rs 320 crore.

Sources say that with the new facility, Ather will be the largest EV maker with 1 million EV production per annum.

"This state-of-the-art plant will annually produce up to 1 million units of vehicles and battery packs both," the Deputy CM wrote on X.

Its rival firm Ola Electric is said to have a planned capacity of around 20 lakh (two million) electric vehicles. Another rival Okinava Autotech’s new factory will have an annual production capacity of 10 lakh units, which will be fully operational from October 2023.

Along with EV capacity expansion, Ather is also increasing its battery manufacturing capacity to 4.3 lakh units from the present capacity of around 1.2 lakh units per annum.

Also Read: Ather charts ambitious plans to become India's biggest EV maker, invests Rs 320 crore in new plant

The announcement comes at a time when Ather is looking to tap the public market by 2025 and has picked HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help arrange its initial public offering.

Founded in 2013 by IIT Madras graduates Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy has till date sold over 1.73 lakh electric scooters and is backed by HeroMoto Corp, Tiger Global and GIC.