As some sort of showdown between two of India’s EV giants – Ola Electric and Ather Energy – goes on. They are almost an unprecedented battle in the industry’s history where Ather would prepare to go public with an IPO of ₹3,000 crore in 2025 and Ola would have already been a dominant player. Let’s see what makes these two go head to head. Putting emphasis on the strategic advantages of Ather and why investors are backing this tenacious EV pioneer.
The Rise of EV in India
India’s EV revolution is no longer a dream. With government initiatives like the FAME subsidies and state-specific policies, EVs are moving from the awareness stage to mass adoption. Today, EV two-wheelers constitute 50% of India’s EV sales, and the segment expected to grow. Ather, one of India’s oldest EV startups, has a 10% market share, which is one-third of Ola’s 30%.
Ather Decade-Long Journey
Founded in 2013, Ather Energy has been driven to ensure quality with uncompromising determination. While players like Ola, Bajaj, and TVS have just started their journey to the EV space. Ather set a resolute strategy right since its inception-to ensure that it serves quality over quantity.
Ather has launched only five products in a decade, compared to Ola’s aggressive launches. It built up quite a robust customer fan base based on the promise of reliability and user trust since it grows by word of mouth.
What Makes Ather Stand Out?
- Product Innovation
Ather has been at the forefront of bringing together hardware and software in such a way as to best be described as a “smartphone on wheels.” From pioneering Google Maps integration and touch dashboards to Auto Hill Assist.
- R&D Excellence
Ather has invested much in R&D. Ather has 48% of its employees working on R&D and if it can multiply the same with revenue. This focus on innovation is helping Ather deliver products of quality premium to justify the price.
- Customer-centric approach
Ather has prioritized accurate battery range displays and premium build quality, earning immense trust. Its scooters, starting at ₹1.19 lakh, may be costlier than Ola’s ₹75,000 models but offer superior reliability and features.
- Strategic Market Focus
While it started in the South, which comprises 68% of its sales, Ather has begun to geographically expand into North, West, and East India. As a firm that has transitioned from performance scooters to family-friendly convenience scooters in its journey from narrow to wide product approach, the company has indeed been traversing a long haul.
The Road Ahead: Ather Plans
- New Things
Ather has now come out with its first family-friendly easy-to-use scooter-the 450S. The company is also currently beginning to sell bikes, which have cornered 60% of the two-wheeler market in India.
- Industrial Expansion
Ather intends to build its third unit in Maharashtra. This will enable them to produce 10 lakh units annually. They will finance this expansion through the money from their IPO of 64%.
- Asset-Light Distribution Model
Ather’s franchise-based dealership model is easier to scale yet cost-effective. For example, while Ola owns most of its 800 stores, Ather only has one company-owned center out of 220 outlets.
- Improved Service Framework
It has a 90% service center to showroom ratio, ensuring quality after-sales support. This perhaps is the differentiator in building customer trust.
The challenges ahead for EV
- Competition with Ola Size
Ambitious plans include a gigafactory for lithium-ion battery and PLI from the government. However, Ather is pretty relatively asset-light in this space and focusing on the quality of components and the enhancement of the software.
- New Market Penetration
Ather has done very well with performance scooters. Now, when it will start making family scooters and bikes, it will have strong competition: Bajaj and TVS, not to forget this new breed of startups.
Ather worked hard for ten years with innovative products while always keeping the customer top of mind, which was good preparation for an IPO and the growth that has followed. Ather is now quality-focused and researching smart growth while readying itself for competition from Ola. It will be fascinating how Ather’s high-quality, trustworthy method compares when it is matched by speed and variety of product expansion from Ola.
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