Hero MotoCorp, India’s and the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, remains bullish on the electric vehicle growth story. So much so that the company, which is an early investor in Ather Energy, is set to increase its shareholding by up to 2.2%, thereby augmenting its equity stake to 41.9 percent. As per Hero MotoCorp, the investment is being made in the form of purchase of additional shares from an existing shareholder of Ather Energy.
In December 2023, Hero MotoCorp invested an additional Rs 140 crore in the Bengaluru-based smart electric scooter manufacturer to hike its stake by three percent in Ather Energy to 39.7 percent.
Hero MotoCorp was the last of the three legacy two-wheeler OEMs to enter the EV market with its Vida electric scooter in October 2022, over two-and-a-half years after Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Co launched their Chetak EV and the iQube, respectively, in January 2020.
Ather Energy, which was incorporated in India on October 21, 2013, is engaged in designing, manufacturing, producing, selling, servicing, software development, and software management, in relation to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and also storage, distribution, and management systems of all forms of electric power (including energy in the form of batteries) and other ancillary services.
Upping the EV quotient
Ather’s rapid growth has been in tandem with that of the Indian electric two-wheeler market. In FY2024, which saw the electric two-wheeler industry’s sales hit a record of over 944,000 units and 30% YoY growth. In FY2024, Ather Energy sold 108,870 units to register strong 41.50% growth (FY2023: 76,939 units) for a market share of 11.53% and took third rank after Ola Electric and TVS Motor Co.
In the first two months of FY2025, the company has retailed 46,001 units which is already 42% of FY2024’s retail sales and give it a market share of 13% percent in the year to date.
On April 6, Ather launched the new Rizta at a starting price of Rs 109,999 (Rizta S) through to Rs 149,999 (Rizta Z). While the S version is equipped with a 2.9 kwH battery and has a 123km range, the Z variant with a 3.7 kWH battery has a 160km range. Key highlights for the family EV include the largest two-wheeler seat in India and storage space aplenty.
In terms of turnover, Ather recorded Rs 1,753.8 crore in FY2024, down 1.5% on FY2023’s Rs 1,780.9 crore. FY2023’s turnover was a 336% YoY increase (FY2022: Rs 408.5 crore).
Future-ready capacity and working on an e-motorcycle too
Ather Energy is well placed in terms of manufacturing capacity to cater to future demand. In FY2024, the company rolled out 107,186 EVs, up 14% YoY, from its plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. In April 2024, it has produced 10,124 units, up 41% (April 2023: 7,185 units).
The company is well placed to cater to growing demand for its e-scooters. On November 23, 2022, the EV OEM inaugurated its second manufacturing plant at Hosur in Tamil Nadu, increasing its capacity to 420,000 units per annum. The new plant, which employs 1,600 personnel, is twice the size of the first plant and has two vehicle and five battery lines. Increased automation levels mean assembly times are down by 20 percent.
Meanwhile, Ather Energy, which retails the Rizta family scooter (6 variants), 450S (two variants), 450X (two variants) and the 450 Apex, is set to diversify into electric motorcycles in the future and has begun work on a product which will be more powerful than the 450 e-scooters.
Hero MotoCorp, as is known, had approved an equity investment up to US$60 million in the US–based Zero Motorcycles, a leading global player in electric motorcycles and powertrains.
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