EL platform designed for rapid, cost-efficient scalability; addressing multiple market needs: Ather Energy CBO
Speaking at the brand’s annual “Community Day”, Ather Energy Chief Business Officer Ravneet Phokela and Co-founder Swapnil Jain discussed the brand’s strategy going forward, as the Bengaluru-based e-scooter maker showcased its brand-new EL 01 platform. Having carved out a niche for itself in the performance e-scooter segment, the brand is now prioritising expansion in the domestic market, particularly in Central and Northern India, reducing cost inefficiencies and making products which allow for rapid scalability in both domestic and international markets.
At a time when rivals like Bajaj Auto had to temporarily halt production due to a rare earth magnets bottleneck, Ather Energy’s revenues surged in FY2026, edging past Ola Electric and Bajaj Auto to become the second largest electric two-wheeler brand in the country with a market share of 17%. Ather also managed to be insulated from the rare earth magnets shortage thanks to the brand’s strategy of “dual sourcing” according to Jain.
“For critical parts, we really try to maintain dual sourcing. We also try to keep a decent amount of stock, anticipating any of these challenges” he adds. Jain also stated that the use of heavy rare earth magnets in Ather scooters is miniscule, with the brand opting for light rare earth magnets instead.
Rizta to the rescue
Discussing the brand’s successful Q1 of FY2026, Ather Energy CBO Ravneet Phokela attributed it primarily to distribution strategy, particularly in Central India where their most recent product – the Ather Rizta – has seen some success.
“We’ve traditionally been strong in South India. In the entire south, we are number one by volume. In Gujarat, we hit number one position in the last two-three months. A more relevant product like the Rizta, available in many more places is where the magic lies” says Phokela.
The Rizta marked Ather’s first departure from its USP of performance-based electric scooters like the brand’s flagship — the 450X.
“The Rizta addressed a portfolio gap. The 450 is a performance product, and that segment is essentially 20% of the market. Now, even if you dominate that market, you are still playing in the 20%, which is why with the dominant share we were hovering at 9-10% of the overall market share for the longest time, because there’s only so much you can sell in the segment. The Rizta allowed us to play the balance 80% of the market and that’s what has been driving growth” says Phokela, adding that by the end of FY2026, Ather intends to have 700-odd stores across the country, with what he calls a “disproportionate focus on Central India, which is a growth market while states like Uttarakhand and UP are nurture markets”
Earlier this month, Ather also began to offer “Battery-as-a-Service” for the first time enabling buyers to purchase the scooter at a lowered initial purchasing cost, while paying for the battery via multiple subscription plans. Stating that the plan is too new to evaluate, It’s too early to say but I don’t expect it to have a high attachment, or be a large proportion of our portfolio because we offer a great level of flexibility in terms of financing. We even offered leasing back in 2018, expecting it to be a game changer – you could upgrade, you could give it back, you could pay the balance and keep the vehicle. So we might be surprised, but I’m not sitting here thinking that it’s going to change the game.”
EL platform: A more cost-efficient and future-ready platform
Unveiling an all-new platform, dubbed the EL01, Jain says has been developed to address a variety of factors. For starters, it will allow for a 5 kWh battery, which isn’t possible with the current architecture. “We’re developing the platform to address future growth and future products.” says Jain adding that these future products, the first of which is to launch in FY2027, are built around ease of serviceability, assembly time reduction and bring down cost inefficiencies.
“We wanted to fix all the things which were architecturally limited by the current platform. It does not address a portfolio gap but it makes our operations, finances more streamlined and allows us to build better products”.
Both Jain and Phokela concur that the EL platform isn’t about filling a portfolio gap, it’s simply the next stage of progression or evolution for the brand. They also specify that despite being able to accommodate a larger battery, it is not architecturally built to outperform the 450X or the 450 Apex.
“The 450X and Apex is the pinnacle of performance for Ather so there will be no overlap.” says Jain clarifying that the new EL platform will be more in-line with a family scooter like the Rizta. “Like any maturing market, we expect this market to fragment into multiple needs and use cases for which we’ll need multiple products,” says Phokela.
“The EL platform also allows us the opportunity to look at international markets a lot more strategically. Unlike the domestic market where, after you’ve opened in the 50th city, you copy and paste, international markets are different. Each market differs in terms of regulation, culture, requirement, products, consumers etc. With the EL our immediate focus is getting-up to scale soon enough. Our primary focus is scaling our domestic market. International is a medium-term but important goal.” said Phokela, remaining tight-lipped about developing electric motorcycles in the near future.
Addressing barriers to EV adoption
Phokela emphasised that price is no longer a barrier for EV adoption. “The barrier to adoption is not price. We’ve seen this because despite some brands heavily discounting their products, their market didn’t double or triple. Because it was now cheaper to buy an e-scooter than a petrol one. Growth comes from addressing fundamental barriers to adoption: questions around battery longevity, safety, residual value. We did not randomly discount our products despite a high pressure period where everybody was offering discounts. In that period we held on and we grew in market share.”