to grow into a leader in the electric scooter vehicle space, ather is sharing its ideas and technologies with other members of the indian ev space
before ola electric, before bajaj chetak and before tvs iqube; the indian electric scooter space was all about ather energy. launched in 2013, ather energy is the brainchild of two indian institute of technology’s (iit) graduates – swapnil jain and tarun mehta. the pair from iit dreamt of creating a smart electric scooter for the indian market after realizing that india did not have an impressive arsenal of electric scooters.
in a report published by yourstory, tarun mehta once said, “during my graduation, i frequently interacted with electric scooter owners. most of them expressed concerns over negligible power, lack of service support, and poor battery life.” within a short time, ather energy launched brand new electric scooters in the indian market and received warm feedback from the indian commuters.
eight years down the line, in 2021, ather energy is facing stiff competition from new rivals such as ola electric, simple one, bajaj, tvs and more. therefore, the bengaluru-based company has chalked up a new strategy to solidify their position in the market. backed by hero motocorp, ather energy is now looking forward to share the company’s in-house designed connector with original equipment manufacturers.
when it comes to electric cars in the indian market, several standard charging connectors are found in the country. however, the scenario is different in the electric scooter segment. in layman terms, the charger/connector of every electric scooter in the indian market is different and therefore, accessing charging stations around the country is difficult.
therefore, by sharing the firm’s in-house designed connector, ather energy hopes that all the electric scooters in the indian market will be able to access any electric charging station in the country. over the years, governments have discussed this ideology, but for the first time in the country, a company has stepped forward to handle the issue.
the bengaluru-based company has clarified that it will not charge royalties or fees from the oems. the company is dedicated to make india a strong electric vehicle nation and therefore; it is not only willing to share its technology but will also create a support team to work with the oems. last but not least, the electric scooter firm is already in talks with several oems.
