EV maker Ather Energy raising up to $250 mn to march past rivals: Report

Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy is reportedly raising up to $250 million in a new funding round, as the debate on EV fires appears to be finally settling with no fresh battery fire cases being reported in the country.

According to Money Control, the funding round is in the early stage and the plan is to raise between $200-$250 million to chart a fresh beginning in the competitive EV two-wheeler market dominated by Hero Electric and Okinawa Autotech.

When reached, Ather Energy did not comment on the development.

In May, Ather Energy raised $128 million in a funding round led by sovereign wealth fund National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) and existing backer Hero MotoCorp, which invested nearly $56 million in the round.

The funds will be used by Ather Energy to expand manufacturing facilities, invest in research and development, charging infrastructure, and grow its retail network.

"The company is expected to increase its capacity from 10,000 a month to 35,000 a month by this year and we are already building a new factory. We should hit 1 million capacity only sometime next year," Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy, had said in a statement.

According to him, the company is currently generating revenues of over Rs 100 crore a month and aims to double the number in FY23.

The latest $200-$250 funding round, it materialises, will help Ather Energy take a big leap in front of its rivals who are surging ahead.

Hero Electric once again led the Indian electric vehicle (EV) two-wheeler segment in August, selling a record and highest-ever 10,476 vehicles in one month, followed by Okinawa Autotech at 8,554 vehicles, the latest government VAHAN data has revealed.

Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric sold 3,421 EV two-wheelers in August, a drop from 3,862 units the company sold in July, indicating that it still needs to bring its strategy back on track.

Ather Energy saw a massive jump at selling 5,239 vehicles, from a mere 1,289 in July.

Ampere Vehicles Pvt Ltd, which sold 6,319 vehicles last month, saw a marginal hike at 6,396 sold units.

--IANS

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