Electric two-wheeler company Ather Energy on Thursday, May 12 announced completion of its Series E round of funding with signing of investment agreements amounting to $128 million with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited’s (NIIFL) Strategic Opportunities Fund (SOF), and Hero MotoCorp, a significant shareholder of Ather, and additional investors. Ather Energy plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing facilities, invest in research and development, charging infrastructure and to grow its retail network.
According to the company, it registered the highest ever monthly sales in April 2022 delivering 3,779 units to customers. Booking orders for Ather Energy’s flagship product, the Ather 450X is growing at 25% quarter-on-quarter, the company said. Ather Energy has a retail sales network spread across 32 cities with 38 Experience Centres and aims to expand to 150 Experience Centres in 100 cities by 2023.
This will be NIIFL’s first direct investment in the manufacturing sector and in electric mobility, both areas of national importance given India’s green mission and decarbonisation goals. The investment enables NIIFL to play a role in mainstreaming the electric two-wheeler sector in India at an early stage of development and to support first generation local entrepreneurs in building a new product with a high level of indigenisation. This will be SOF’s fourth investment following its investments in two infrastructure financing NBFCs (Aseem Infrastructure Finance and NIIF IFL) and a national healthcare chain (Manipal Hospitals).
“The switch to electric is inevitable and FY 22’ was the turning point for electric two-wheeler adoption in India. We are super excited to have NIIF come on board as an investor. They have been at the forefront of the country’s green transition through their investments and initiatives, and we look forward to our association. We would also like to thank Hero MotoCorp, our long-term investor and strategic partner who continues to support our growth,” said Tarun Mehta, CEO, Ather Energy.
“The current round of investment will help us enhance capacities across the board, bring additional focus on new platforms, expand into new geographies, expand our fast-charging network and double down on the reputation we’ve built for making a product that’s high on quality,” he added.