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E-scooter manufacturer Ather claims rising costs delaying profit timings

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E-scooter manufacturer Ather claims rising costs delaying profit timings
20 Jul 2022
5 min read

News Synopsis


Ather Energy, an Indian manufacturer of electric scooters, claimed that despite strong demand for its products, the company's ability to turn a profit was being hampered by rising raw material costs and supply chain problems.

Its CEO and cofounder Tarun Mehta said, "I was hoping to break even later this year alone. I would add a few quarters to that now. As more people switch to greener transportation, demand for electric car manufacturers has increased significantly. However, their expansion has been hindered by a steep rise in commodity prices and serious supply chain disruptions.

Due to higher commodity prices, Ather has seen an increase in material costs of "many hundreds of dollars," some of which have been passed on to customers, according to Mehta. A lack of chips and difficulties obtaining lithium-ion cells for batteries, which were made worse by Covid-19 lockdowns in China and transportation disruptions, have also reduced the company's production levels, he continued. 

Backed by the largest bike manufacturer in India and private equity firm Tiger Global. In June, Hero MotoCorp Ather sold more than 3,200 electric scooters. It trails rivals Hero Electric and Ola Electric, which are funded by Japan's Softbank Group.

 

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