Ather Energy, India’s leading electric scooter brand has announced its partnership with Bharat FIH, a Foxconn Technology Group company, to develop and manufacture key components for Ather scooters. The partnership aims to enhance the manufacturing ecosystem to meet the strong demand for their flagship products, the Ather 450X and the 450 Plus.
For Ather, which has been on an aggressive national push after starting off in Bengaluru in 2018, the move comes even as it is expanding its production capacity to meet demand, and prepare from competition from a slew of new entrants, both new and legacy.
To cater to the growing demand over the longer term, Ather Energy announced the scaling up of its production from 120,000 to 400,000 units per annum at its Hosur facility and has recently acquired more land to increase production. Over the next three years, Ather plans to increase its annual production capacity to one million scooters, install 5,000 fast chargers across India, develop new products, and increase its network to 600 stores. Currently, the company has 30 experience centres (retail outlets) across India.
Bharat FIH will offer a host of manufacturing services that include Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Assemblies for Battery Management Systems, Dashboard Assembly, Peripheral Controlling Units, and Drive Control Modules. These products will be manufactured on a ‘Turn-Key” model, including managing the supply chain logistics and raw material procurement for Ather Energy. Bharat FIH has begun the production of parts for Ather scooters at their facility
Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, Ather Energy said “The EV industry continues to witness growth at an unprecedented rate with strong demand across segments. Ather Energy also finds itself in the midst of phenomenal growth as we continue to expand our retail footprint across the country. We are working towards strengthening our supply chain to cater to the rising demand for our scooters. Towards this, we are delighted to partner with Bharat FIH to provide us with the capacity, supply chain capability, and process expertise to achieve our volumes and projections. Bharat FIH has demonstrated incredible capability over the last few months by ramping up very quickly to meet our requirements. This partnership also reflects the opportunities that large auto component manufacturers today recognise in the EV industry”
Ather Energy claims to have seen a 20% increase in month-on-month sales in the past few months and this trend is expected to continue in the coming months. Ather Energy has been making strategic investments in creating a favourable ecosystem for EVs in the country to boost mass adoption of EVs and cater to the rising demand.
Over the years, Ather Energy has built a strong local supplier base with nearly 99% of the products being indigenously built and sourced for manufacturing. In terms of supplying and manufacturing components for their products.
Source: saurenergy.com
