New Delhi: Two years ago, startup firm Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd took a leap in the dark, launching two electric scooter models in India—340 and 450—a segment to which most established automakers gave a wide berth because the path to profits was unclear.
“Manufacturing is a hard problem to solve. But it is not unsolvable. If a business model runs on innovation and is IP-driven, then less manufacturing excellence will not hold you back,” said Tarun Mehta, co-founder, Ather Energy.
Mehta said although Ather’s current production capacity is 30,000 units per year, it is able to utilize only a fraction of that due to supply chain issues. However, the startup has launched a new product 450X, with which it plans to ramp up volumes quickly. It is also setting up a manufacturing plant at Hosur with an estimated annual capacity of nearly 100,000 units.
Meanwhile, another startup firm Tork Motors, said it will ramp up capacity to about 20,000 vehicles per year from around 1,000 currently, even as it gears up to launch its first product–an electric motorcycle named T6X—in the June quarter this year.
