Ather bets big on low-cost EL platform to lift margins, launch around October 2026

Ather Energy is betting big on its low-cost electric scooter platform EL, which is expected to spawn its first EV around October 2026, during the festive season. The upcoming electric scooter will be a mass market one, based on the EL architecture. It would be in line with the Ather Rizta, which became an immediate hit with its practical yet upmarket feature-packed and day-to-day commuter approach.

The electric two-wheeler manufacturer on Monday registered a 57% decline in its net loss at ₹100.23 crore in the January-March quarter, as compared with the corresponding period last year. For reference, Ather Energy, which got listed on exchanges in May 2025, had posted a loss of ₹234.36 crore in the fourth quarter of FY25. Revenue from operations for the January-March 2026 period stood at ₹1,174.66 crore, up 74% from ₹676.8 crore recorded in March 2025. For FY26, the net loss of the company stood at ₹517.17crore against a net loss of ₹812.28 crore, while revenue from operations was ₹3,671.76 crore as compared to ₹2,255.01 crore reported in the financial year ended March 2025.

The EV manufacturer delivered 83,418 units of electric scooters in Q4 FY26, up 76% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. This was supported by the expansion of its retail network to 700 experience centres across the country, including 100 added during the said quarter.

Ather EL aims to replicate Rizta's success

Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Ather Energy, said that the scale-up of product and distribution drove a total income of ₹1,214 crore for the company, up 76% YoY. He also stated that the company's family scooter, Ather Rizta, helped the brand to post strong growth. The high demand for Rizta translated into strong volume growth and better unit economics, Mehta added.

Since the launch of the scooter in the Indian market, the Ather Rizta has been playing an instrumental role in the company's growth. The EV is designed as a family-oriented, practical scooter, featuring a large seat, 56-litre total storage, and advanced safety features like SkidControl.

Now, Ather aims to replicate the success of Rizta with its upcoming mass-market scooter that will be based on the new platform EL. "With our new scooter platform, EL, we have the opportunity to replicate the same growth levers at potentially a larger scale, going after the biggest total addressable market in the Indian electric two-wheeler segment," Mehta said.

Ather's EL-based scooters will focus mass and premium segments

Ather Energy will make the EL platform-based electric scooter at the company's upcoming plant, Factory 3.0, located at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Auric industrial zone), Maharashtra. Mehta hinted that the new scooter will be launched around October this year.

The EL scooter platform is designed to reduce dependence on expensive commodities such as aluminium and copper. It has been engineered with cost in mind. It will mark a shift from aluminium frames to steel frames, and there will be a simpler transmission system as well. With this, the OEM is focusing on expanding margins.

This platform will spawn multiple models, hinted the company. While there will be a focus on the mass segment, the EL platform is designed for premium categories as well. The mass-market focused product would be priced between ₹1 lakh and ₹1.25 lakh (ex-showroom).

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