 "Ather Energy, Ather, EV scooter, electric scooter")
Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler (2W) maker Ather Energy is banking on its upcoming one million units (annually) Maharashtra facility to fuel domestic expansion as well as its international ambitions.
Ather had held on to its market share in FY25 despite intense competition from Bajaj Auto and TVS.
As of March 2025, Ather commanded 11.39 per cent retail market-share in electric two-wheelers (e2Ws), almost flat from FY24, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada).
Meanwhile, peers like Ola Electric (29.93 per cent) have lost market share to incumbents like Bajaj Auto (20.08 per cent) and TVS (20.67 per cent).
For the nine-months ending December 31, Ather Energy has sold 107,983 units, up 45 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). In FY24, the company had sold 109,577 units.
The e2W giant brings the first major main-board initial public offering (IPO) in FY26. The Tiger Global-backed company is looking to raise ₹2,626 core (reduced size from an earlier plan of ₹3,100 crore) by issuing fresh shares.
In addition to the fresh issue, the IPO also includes an offer for sale (OFS) of 11 million equity shares with participation from the promoter group and institutional investors.
Ather Energy has set a price band of ₹304-321 per share for its IPO, which opens on April 28. Anchor bidding will commence on April 25, and the issue will close on April 30. According to market sources, Ather is targeting a valuation of ₹12,800 crore, down from an earlier expectation of ₹14,000 crore. The company did not verify the valuation.
Tarun Mehta, co-founder, executive director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ather Energy said the company doesn’t want to try and “time the market.”
“With peers getting listed, the story is becoming clearer. I think there are investors who appreciate the story. Bankers advised us that this is the right time to open up the issue,” he said.
The adjusted gross margin has improved to 19 per cent in M9FY25 compared to 9 per cent in the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin also improved from minus 34 per cent to minus 23 per cent during the same period.
Total income increased by 29 per cent to ₹1,617.4 crore. Loss before tax improved from ₹776 crore in M9FY24 to ₹577.9 crore in M9FY25.
“Our unit economics is improving, material costs have dropped by 31 per cent in the last 3-4 years, our software strategy is working well, and we saw 45 per cent growth (sales) in the first three quarters of FY25,” Mehta said, outlining that they are on a path to profitability.
Around ₹927.2 crore from the IPO proceeds will go towards setting up the Maharashtra plant and another ₹40 crore would be for debt repayment. Around ₹750 crore would be invested in research and development, and another ₹300 crore spent on marketing initiatives.
Utilisation of these funds will occur over the financial years 2026-2028
By March 2027, commissioning of phase 1 would be done at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar plant in Maharashtra.
“Since the proceeds will fund it, once the IPO is done, we will immediately start working on it. Let’s see how much time a Greenfield facility takes. The capacity at the Hosur facility is 35,000 units a month and during the festival period, production had touched 20,000-21,000 units a month,” Mehta said.
He added, “We need capacities for domestic expansion and also for our international business plans. We are adding a lot of distribution (network) especially in the non-South markets.”
At present 61 per cent of Ather’s sales come from the southern states. Ather now has over 280 experience centres across India as of December and over 3,000 charging points.
