Ather Energy to setup 3rd plant in Maharashtra

New Delhi: Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy will set up its third manufacturing unit in Maharashtra entailing an investment of over Rs 2,000 crore, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday. The new facility to be set up at Bidkin, Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC), will manufacture both electric two-wheelers and battery packs, Ather Energy said in a statement. In a post on X, Fadnavis said, "It is a more than Rs 2,000 crore investment, generating employment of around 4,000." Terming it as a big investment in Maharashtra's automotive sector, he said, "This state-of-the-art plant will annually produce up to 1 million units of vehicles and battery packs both." Ather Energy currently has two manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, one dedicated to battery production and the other for vehicle assembly.

The current facilities will continue to produce battery packs and vehicles. The existing plants have annual capacities of 4.3 lakh battery packs and 4.2 lakh vehicles respectively. The new facility in Maharashtra allows Ather to get closer to more markets in the country by reducing its logistics cost and hastening the delivery of its finished products to its customers, the company said. Ather Energy Co-founder & CTO Swapnil Jain said since 2021, the company's facilities in Hosur have been serving as its national manufacturing hub, catering to the demand across the country. "With our expanding product portfolio and the increasing consumer demand for our scooters, we decided to strategically diversify our production capabilities to an additional location that will be closer to more markets in the country. The new manufacturing facility will not only rationalise our logistic cost but will also hasten the delivery of finished products to our customers," he added. Ather currently sells performance electric scooters 450X, 450S and 450 Apex. It had recently launched its first family scooter Rizta.