Ather Energy gets a fresh round of funding from Hero MotoCorp

Ather Energy, the electric two-wheeler company has announced a new invester in the form of Hero MotoCorp.  The Rs 180 crore funding will give Hero MotoCorp a 26-30% stake in the electric start-up. This is the third round of investments in Ather Energy, after Tiger Global and Sachin and Binny Bansal, promoters of Flipkart. 

Ather Energy rose to fame with their prototype, the S340 - India’s first smart, electric scooter which they unveiled at the SURGE web summit in Bangalore earlier this year. The S340is an electric scooter with a Lithium ion battery pack and is capable of clocking 72 kmph with a range of 60 kilometres. The USP of the S340 is vehicle intelligence which enables on board navigation, pre-emptive diagnostics, remote configuration and personalized ride profiles through a 7-inch touchscreen information and control panel on the dashboard and mobile app. 

The experience extends beyond the bikes in terms of sales with their proposed go-to-market strategy - a combination of online sales and experience centres and enhanced after-sales experience through door step delivery and servicing and a mobile app for remote access and configuration. They also aim at setting up a universal charging infrastructure in every city it will operate in with the help of government and private enterprises. 

Speaking on the investment, Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder of Ather Energy said, “The funding is a strong validation of our product roadmap and technology capability, endorsed by one of the biggest global automotive players. We believe smart connected electric vehicles are the future and India will be an important global player in it. Our vision is to fast forward to that future and this investment will help us leapfrog several years of automotive experience" The Board of Directors of Hero MotoCorp, in its meeting held on October 26, 2016, approved an investment of up to Rs. 205 crore, of which the immediate release is of Rs. 180 crore.