Ather Energy raises Rs 130 crore from existing investor Hero MotoCorp

According to a report in Entrackr, this is the first infusion of funds in the Bengaluru-based company this year. It had raised $35 million in a Series D round in November 2020.
Ather Grid
Ather Grid
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Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy has raised Rs 130 crore in funding from existing investor Hero MotoCorp. This is the first fund infusion in the Bengaluru-based company this year, according to a report by Entrackr. It had raised $35 million in its Series D round in November 2020. 

As per the report, regulatory filings show that Ather Energy has received a letter from Hero FinCorp Limited (an associate company of Hero MotoCorp) sanctioning a loan amount of Rs 130 crore. The Hero FinCorp group owns a nearly 35% stake in the company and was the primary investor in Ather Energy’s Series B fundraise in 2016. 

The report states that the fresh round of funding comes at a time when Ather Energy is planning to augment its charging stations and expand its presence in other cities. Ather Energy faces competition from Ola Electric which is going to start delivery of its electric scooters S1 and S1 Pro in October. Accel-backed Bounce is also in the fray and had recently acquired Gurugram-based 22 Motors. It is likely to start delivery of scooters by the end of this fiscal, the report adds. 

Ather Energy registered a 126% jump in operating revenue which stood at Rs 79.8 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31. However, its annual losses had increased by 6% to Rs 233.30 crore in FY21, the report states. The company is aiming to turn profitable in FY22 at the operating level. 

Ather had announced last year that deliveries of the Ather 450X, one of the quickest scooters in the 125cc category, will begin from November 2020. Ather had confirmed that by Q1 of 2021, the Ather 450X will be seen on the roads across all the 10 cities announced earlier this year, i.e. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Kolkata, and Coimbatore. The deliveries would begin in a phased manner beginning with Bengaluru and Chennai first and then the rest of the cities, it had said. 

Ather had said that it would be setting up its fast-charging network - Ather Grid across each city before delivery so that new owners have a hassle-free experience once the vehicle is delivered. It further planned to set up 10-15 fast charging points across each city in Phase 1.

Hero Electric is the current market leader commanding a 36% market share in India’s two-wheeler EV segment. The two-wheeler major has 1000 charging stations and plans to ramp it up to 10X to 10,000 charging stations, for which it recently joined hands with Massive Mobility. 

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