Ather energy: Riding the electric vehicle tide

Abstract

It was New Year's Eve 2018, and in a sharp contrast to the festive mood one associates with the holiday season, a group of 350 people were frantically working on the commercial launch of India's first smart, connected and Lithium-ion powered electric two-wheeler, christened as S340, by one of the hottest Indian hardware start-ups, Ather Energy. Co-founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013, Ather Energy claimed to have developed an electric vehicle (EV) comparable to the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in terms of performance. This was in stark difference to the existing crop of lowpowered low-speed electric vehicles which were usually shipped into the country in knocked down kits. However, Ather Energy was grappling with key questions around their business model. Ather Energy had developed in-house battery and a battery management system (BMS). Their first offering was designed ground up and required unique parts from auto ancillaries who were not very keen to invest in an upstart technology. Being a start-up also meant that Ather Energy lacked veterans to guide them through the $93 billion Indian automobile market. These and other such factors had already pushed back the commercial launch date of Ather Energy's first vehicle by about two years (Exhibit 4). As Tarun and Swapnil entered the room to address their top managers about the finer details of the impending vehicle launch, they quickly went over their notes. Was there any piece of the final puzzle that was yet to fall into place? They were aware that a startup generally gets only one shot at glory. They wanted to make their shot count.