Ather Energy plans to share 2,500 of Ather Grid EV charging stations with others

Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy plans to share more of its EV charging network, called Ather Grid, with other EV makers in the country. The electric two-wheeler maker said it is open to help others in the EV segment to adopt to its EV charging connector in an attempt to speed up EV adoption across India. Ather Energy's EV chargers have recently been recognised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Ather Energy is one of the top electric two-wheeler manufacturers in India with 9,344 units sold in November.

Ather Energy currently offers around 1,600 EV charging stations as part of its Ather Grid network. By March next year, Ather Energy plans to increase the number of EV chargers to 2,500. The EV maker had opened up its EV charging network to other electric vehicle manufacturers almost two years ago. Hero MotoCorp was one of the first major EV maker to officially grab the offer soon after it launched Vida, its electric scooter manufacturing brand, which made India debut with two models called V1 Plus and V1 Pro electric scooters.

Ravneet S Phokela, Chief Business Officer at Ather Energy, said that the EV maker is currently in talks with other manufacturers so that they can adopt its charging connector and use Ather Grid as part of recharging network. "Our engineers can come and work with your engineers so that you don't have a steep learning curve. We have already made the investments. We already know technologies, we will just help you adopt," Phokela was quoted by news agency PTI. While the EV maker plans to increase its number of EV chargers to 2,500 by March, it also aims to double the network to 5,000 by next fiscal.

Phokela also said that Ather Energy will offer the service absolutely free for customers riding in with electric two-wheelers from rivals too. “We are not looking to charge money for this... If I take a larger philosophical view on this one, we do not want to compete on the infrastructure. We want to collaborate on the charging side and compete on the vehicle side. We want to fast-track the harmonisation of charging infrastructure," he said.

EV chargers developed by Ather Energy, which includes both AC and DC combined charging connectors, was recognised by the BIS in October this year. They have now been approved as standard for electric two-wheelers as well as micro cars and light electric vehicles.

Ather Energy currently offers only electric scooters in India. It has 450S and 450X as two of its models that are currently on sale. It is also going to launch its third model, the 450 Apex, as its fastest electric scooter soon.