Indian electric scooter maker Ather Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a 400,000 sq ft vehicle and lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Hosur, near Bengaluru.
The MoU was signed with the government of Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the Investment and Skill Development Conclave in Chennai.
The factory in Tamil Nadu is supported by the government of Tamil Nadu under its EV Policy. It comes as state and central governments in India initiate a big push for electric two-wheelers with an updated FAME policy, GST reduction, and benefits for taxpayers on loans for electric two-wheeler purchase.
Ather has already announced its plans to expand to 30 cities in the next few years and believe the MoU will help scale up production plans for the same.
Ather has also been investing in setting up fast-charging infrastructure in Bengaluru and Chennai, which has ten fast charging points. Depending on the success of the initial plans, Ather is planning charging stations in Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai.
Tarun Mehta, Ather’s chief executive officer, said: “We are rapidly scaling up and we need to expand our production capacity to meet the growing demand.
“The new unit will help us meet the demand for the next few years across the country.
“A manufacturing facility at Hosur was an ideal choice considering that, it is close to our R&D facilities in Bengaluru and most of the existing and potential future supply base is operating in the region.”
