Hero MotorCorp infuses Rs 84 Cr in Ather Energy

Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy has raised Rs 84 crore as a part of its Series C funding round from the existing backer, Hero MotorCorp. The platform has received the latest tranche after a gap of 14 months. 

In May last year, Ather Energy had secured a $51 million round led by Sachin Bansal, who alone infused $32 million. Backed by the likes of Binny Bansal and Tiger Global, the Bengaluru-based company has bagged over $102 million to date. 

Commenting on the latest fundraising, Tarun Mehta, co-founder & CEO of Ather Energy, said, “Our geographic expansion and the roll-out schedule for the Ather 450X are on track, and we will be using these funds to invest in our facilities to meet the demand we have seen for the Ather 450X across the country”. 

Ather Energy would use the fresh capital to scale to 20 cities by the end of 2021 and foray into Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad by the end of October 2020. 

Ather Energy had launched its first fully-electric scooter, the Ather S340 in Bengaluru in 2016. Since then, the platform has been trying out channels like leasing to drive demand. To build charging infrastructures, the company has been setting up charging facilities for the past two years. It has plans to set up Ather Grid fast charging points across the country over the next five years.

 It recently partnered with CredR, a used two-wheeler car company, for its two-wheeler exchange program. Available in Chennai and Bengaluru for now, the program allows users who own a petrol-powered two-wheeler to exchange it for an electric two-wheeler.

The firm is further eyeing to open a new manufacturing facility in Hosur, which is designed to produce 100,000 units annually. 

The new tranche has come at a time when electric vehicles are a priority for mobility startups. Ola Electric had acquired Amsterdam-based electric scooter manufacturer, Etergo for launching electric two-wheelers in India next year. Accel-backed scooter rental platform Bounce is also replacing its existing fleet with electric two-wheelers.