New Delhi: Bengaluru-based Ather Energy, the third-largest electric scooter manufacturer in India at present, is looking to double its market share in the e-scooter market to 25-30% by the end of fiscal year 2024, a top company executive told Mint. The company hopes to be able to produce 20,000-units each month by then.
The company is also working on a new scooter platform, and will expand its offering to segments beyond performance scooters, into the family, convenience, and value segments, where rivals such as TVS Motor Company and Ola Electric play.
Ahead of the festive season, two-wheeler makers are gearing up to launch new low-cost models, and advancing their product launch plans in response to revised FAME-II subsidies. Ather’s new 450S, positioned to compete in the 125cc performance scooter market, is its most affordable product, priced at ₹1.29 lakh ex-showroom, including the FAME-II subsidy.
“The sports scooters market in India is over 60,000 units a month, that you can segment into 150cc and 125cc. There is really no 110CC sports scooter. The 150cc scooter segment is 8,000-9,000 units per month and the rest (50,000-55,000 units) is 125cc. In the 150cc segment, Ather 450X is pretty much the leader, with 70-80% share. The 125cc segment is obviously the next big segment with five times larger volumes at 55,000 units. The 450S will take competition to that space. It will take 20-25% market share in the short term, then take on segment leaders TVS NTorq and over the long term take a meaningful share of the segment," said Tarun Mehta, co-founder and chief executive of Ather.
“The market is maturing super fast. Increasingly it is becoming sophisticated, especially where EVs are present for a while, like in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune, with customers seeing 20-30% electric penetration in the scooters space. They want to buy an Ather for a performance scooter. If you want the trust of an old name, you buy TVS. This implies that a large number of buyers walking into our showrooms want performance. So, we are positioning the scooter as a performance scooter instead of a generic product. Soon, every OEM will be electric. That’s not a good way to differentiate ourselves," said Mehta.
“However, we won’t just keep selling performance scooters. There are other segments we are eyeing. There’s a fantastic market in the family segment, in the comfort and convenience segments. And you can bet Ather is building a lot and in the coming years you will see many announcements as we enter those segments."
According to Mehta, electric two-wheelers, which grew at 30-35% every quarter, but saw a volumes dip following lower subsidies in June, will recover to March-like sales within a month or two.
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Updated: 11 Aug 2023, 11:54 PM IST
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