Ather Energy has a busy 2026 planned with not just new products based on its upcoming EL platform but also a new factory that will start operations before year-end. The company hopes to expand its addressable market with its EL platform-based models, the first of which is expected around this year’s festive season.
- Aurangabad plant to have 5 lakh units annual capacity to begin with
- Rizta and 450 will continue to co-exist with the upcoming Ather products
- EL platform-based scooters will be easier and more affordable to produce
Ather’s EL products coming by festive season
The new plant is expected to start with a monthly capacity of about 42,000 units, adding to Ather’s existing manufacturing base in Hosur as the company prepares for the next phase of growth.
The EL platform marks a shift for Ather, which looks to enter lower-price segments, where it currently has no presence. “Our understanding is that the mass segment of Rs 1 lakh-1.25 lakh is the largest chunk of the EV market today… and with EL, we are particularly targeting this segment,” co-founder Tarun Mehta said during a post-earnings call.
He said the platform will help the company expand its reach while improving profitability. “EL will give us the opportunity to expand margins with less dependence on really expensive commodities like aluminium… and fundamentally enable considerable cost reduction, based on how we have designed this platform.”
The company also expects the platform to open up a new set of customers without affecting its current products. “We’re talking about adding a product in a price segment where Ather literally does not play… giving us a large upside with very limited cannibalisation concerns overall,” Mehta said.
The platform can produce a diverse range of scooters, from commuter and family to high-performance models, offering various battery sizes, wheel dimensions and dashboard designs. When asked about the launch timeline, Mehta replied, “We believe this festive season would be a good timeline for the products to come out.”
Ather currently sells the 450 and Rizta electric scooters, both positioned at the premium end of the market, leaving a gap in its portfolio for more affordable products. The EL platform is expected to address this while also supporting cost improvements through design changes such as lower use of aluminium and simpler engineering.
To support the rollout, the company is building its largest factory in Auric City in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad). “This is our largest factory to date, planned for a total capacity of 10 lakh units, with 5 lakh units of capacity going live in phase one itself. This plant… will help unit economics, because it has higher vertical integration… with battery pack assembly, transmission assembly, painting and electronics assembly… coming in-house,” Mehta said.
The expansion comes at a time when competition in the electric two-wheeler market is intensifying, with established players such as TVS Motor Company, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp’s Vida strengthening their presence, especially in the mass segment.
Ather, which reported registrations of 2,38,461 units in FY2026, up 82 percent, also saw its market share rise to 17 percent from 11.4 percent, supported by network expansion and the launch of its family-centric Rizta e-scooter. The company doubled its store count to 700 showrooms and more than doubled its service centres during the year, strengthening its reach across various regions in the country.
With the EL platform and new capacity coming online, Ather is positioning itself to compete more directly in the mass segment, even as it continues to build on its presence in the premium electric scooter space.
With inputs from Mukul Yudhveer Singh Nakhwa