In just over 25 months’ time, Bengaluru-based start-up Ather Energy has managed to produce its 25,000th 450X e-scooter. The very first Ather 450X rolled off the assembly line on January 28, 2020, and the 25,000th unit's rollout was on March 4, 2022. This is impressive, especially considering the havoc caused by COVID-19 in this period.
Other manufacturers have sold more e-scooters in the same period, but Ather has rolled out a product that has been designed and developed indigenously, which is more than can be said of many other players in the arena.
The company sold upwards of 15,000 scooters in 2021, and has been seeing a strong upturn in demand recently. So much so that it is struggling to meet the demand, and has fast-tracked its plans to set up a second manufacturing plant. To help it cater to this demand, the company has partnered with Bharat FIH, a Foxconn Technology Group company, to develop and manufacture key components for Ather electric scooters.
Ather’s e-scooters, the 450 Plus and 450X, feature many complex electronic components. As part of this agreement, Bharat FIH will offer a host of manufacturing services that include printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies for the battery management systems, the digital TFT display and various other control modules. Bharat FIH says it has already begun the production of parts for Ather scooters at its facility.
Despite its best attempts, though, it seems that chief rival Ola Electric could reach Ather’s production numbers in just a few months’ time, despite having begun deliveries only in December last year. To find out how the Ola S1 Pro stacks up against the Ather 450X, check out our detailed comparison review here.
Ved Janve
Vishal Venugopal
Dinshaw Magol
