Electric Vehicles Startup ‘Arther Energy’ Aims To Attract New Customers

In an attempt to encourage the use of Electric Vehicles, Arther Energy is looking forward to own new models such as long-term rentals, direct leasing, hardware subscriptions and exchange offers.

In addition to it, the electric scooter manufacturer is also anticipating that more and more Indians will replace petroleum driven vehicles with the EV’s this year as people have started to realize the money-saving advantages associated with an EV, and also when state and central governments have increased the number of subsidies on these vehicles.

Ather’s chief executive Tarun Mehta in an interview talks about the start-ups plan to expand into new cities, and the launch of its new manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Ather’s Whitefield factory in Bengaluru currently has the capacity to manufacture 30,000 units per month. The new factory at Hosur will have an increased capacity of manufacturing 100,000 vehicles and that will gradually go up to half a million, Mehta said.

Currently, the company marks its retails offline presence through “experience centres” or showrooms in Chennai and Bengaluru. It has also begun to take pre-appointments for new urban areas through its online site.

As per Mehta, the start-up is looking to mark its presence in 10 new cities which includes Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune by the end of March 2021. Discussions are on with the dealers in these cities to open up new centres, which will be a part of the brand’s sales strategy. “For most people, an Ather (scooter) is not an objective purchase, they usually get to hear about the brand through word of mouth. We have seen examples where a potential customer may not even be interested in buying a two-wheeler, but after they take our test ride from our experience centre, at some point in the next three to six months they end up pre-ordering it or buying it,” Mehta said during a phone interview.

He also said that Arther is in search for new vehicle ownership models like long-term leases and vehicle exchange deals as there will be an increase in the number of commuters who are expected to buy a vehicle rather than depending on public transport. Arther last month has made a strategic deal with the bike-sharing startup, Bounce which will enable users to purchase a vehicle at the on-road price and rent it back or lease it in the same platform, and that will give the user a chance to make money.

Purchase of Ather 450 will help people to get a benefit of ₹26,732 in the form of subsidy under the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Fame 2, scheme. Currently, the company offers two models—Ather 450, and the higher-performance version 450X.