Fresh off its stock market debut, Ather Energy is looking to pick up speed and enter its next phase of growth on the back of the successful first phase of launch for the Rizta scooter and new products in the pipeline, chief business officer Ravneet Phokela said.

Ather became only the second EV firm in India to , and reported a 17% year-on-year drop in Q4 FY25 losses . Revenue grew by nearly 30% YoY to INR 676.1 Cr, driven by higher sales volumes and improved margins.

In a post-IPO conversation, Phokela spoke about Ather Energy’s plans to scale up sales. With a market share of 13.3% in India’s EV two-wheeler segment (and 22.4% in southern India), Ather is now turning its focus towards northern India.

Ather Energy’s ambitions also extend beyond vehicles to creating an ecosystem of biking and riding products including helmets and other accessories, as well as premium software subscription. This reflects in its non-vehicle revenue as well, which rose to 12% of total revenue, up from 10% the year before.

CBO Phokela also explained Ather Energy’s logic in expanding into new product categories—all while navigating the pressures and expectations of life as a publicly listed firm.

Edited excerpts from the conversation

Inc42: With Ather Energy expanding into northern India in Q4 and most new stores opening there, what shifts do you anticipate?

Ravneet Phokela: When people talk about Ather Energy’s strength in the South, there’s often a tendency to assume it’s simply because we’re a southern brand. Sure, having a strong home market helps, but that alone doesn’t explain our position here. The deeper reason lies in how we built our portfolio.

Our first product was the 450, which you might have ridden back in 2022. This is a performance scooter, and this segment makes up about 19% of the overall scooter market.

That 19% is disproportionately concentrated in southern India and parts of eastern India. So naturally, the performance-focused product sells better in markets where customers are looking for that product

Inc42: And what about northern India?

Ravneet Phokela: In northern India, on the other hand, there is a lot more demand for family scooters, and that’s where the Rizta comes in, which only launched in July last year.

In northern India, performance scooters are just about 5% of the market, so it doesn’t make sense to aggressively expand distribution for Ather 450 there. We were cautious, because without the right product, you’re simply not set up to succeed in that geography.

Now, our portfolio has matured. With the Rizta, we’re now catering to the bulk of the northern India market that the 450 couldn’t address. It gives us the license to win in regions like North India and West India.

“In fact, in just seven to eight months, we’re already seeing market share going from 5% to 20% market share in states like Gujarat. Similarly, in Maharashtra and Delhi too, the market share has doubled.”

Inc42: Everyone is making EV motorbikes now. Ola Electric has fired their shot, what’s Ather Energy planning?

Ravneet Phokela: Typically, such transitions are led by a shift in consumer behavior. The focus on bikes will definitely be more pronounced, but there’s a lag in adoption.

Right now, our focus is on building a platform that can support different bike segments. The beauty of this approach is that once the platform is built, it gives flexibility to introduce various models, like 150cc, 200cc, or 250cc bikes.

We want to monitor how the competition evolves, similar to our approach with the scooter market. Once the competition plays out and we have the right strategy in place, we’ll fast-track the launch based on the market conditions.

Inc42: Have you seen early signs pointing to which segment you should focus on?

Ravneet Phokela: What we know for sure is that certain segments won’t ‘electrify’ first. For instance, the commuter segment is the most conservative, and it’ll likely take longer to adopt electric bikes. However, when it comes to total cost of ownership, the math works in favor of electric bikes, as they offer savings of around $80 or INR 6,500 annually on petrol.

For the bike platform, Ather Energy will likely target the urban commute market, but we’re not starting with the commuter segment. We recognise that the commuter market will take time to be ready, and it’s largely concentrated in rural areas. That’s how we see the market shaping up for now.

The platform we’re building will allow us to choose the performance profile based on market attractiveness at the time. We’re still evaluating this.

Inc42: You’ve partnered with Amara Raja for cell chemistries, particularly for LFP batteries. But this is not an exclusive arrangement; do you see this as a weakness?

Ravneet Phokela: I believe exclusivity isn’t ideal, neither for the buyer nor the seller. From a buyer’s perspective, it’s important to have multiple sources, which is how we currently operate for most of our components.

We’d rather maintain flexibility than lock ourselves into a single supplier relationship. This also gives us better leverage in terms of cost negotiations.

Our strategy is to work with multiple partners and keep both lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and chemistries in play, ensuring we have viable alternatives at all times.

Once the domestic supply chain matures, our goal is to localise cell sourcing entirely. As soon as we see that reliability in the domestic market, we’ll make that transition.

Inc42: In your latest results, the revenue per product decreased by about 10%. What was the main reason behind that?

Ravneet Phokela: The Rizta’s average selling price is INR 15,000–INR 16,000 lower than the 450. We launched Rizta in the last week of June 2024,and we saw phenomenal traction.

The demand for Rizta kept continually increasing and eventually, 57% of the total scooters sold were from this vehicle. That’s why you see the per-scooter revenue coming down, which is logical.

But when you look at the full-year numbers, our margins have held strong at 19%. While ASP has gone down with the more affordable scooter, the cost has also been optimised, and as a result, we’ve been able to maintain very healthy margins.

Inc42: Many people say Ola Electric and Ather Energy are only different because Ola offers discounts. Are you tempted to go that way?

Ravneet Phokela: Discounting is a bad habit. And there’s a big difference between discounting because of poor value perception versus price corrections for market fit.

Why should you discount a great electric scooter to push volumes? If you’ve nailed the product-market fit and your customers see the value, they’ll pay the price.

We’re still a premium brand, though we don’t position ourselves as a luxury brand. We will play in every segment, but within that segment, we aim to command a premium over our competition, because we believe our product justifies it.

There was a period when some players dropped prices to as low as INR 69,000. But that move was born out of product weakness.

In Ather Energy’s case, even at INR 90K, consumers were still buying Rizta. This scooter starts at INR 1,09,000 to INR 1,14,000, so it’s not cheap, but it’s a well-engineered, high-value product. The fact that it has seen strong validation is a strong signal about its quality.

Inc42: How is Ather Energy managing after-sales services, especially in the rural parts of India?

Ravneet Phokela: Our business model is crystal clear: you cannot open sales without simultaneously opening service. It’s simply not possible.

At best, what we allow is a six to eight-week window between setting up sales and establishing the service center. But even during that time, work on the service setup is already underway.

That’s the extent of the flexibility we allow. So wherever you buy from, whichever town or store, there will always be service guaranteed.

However, there are still many areas where we haven’t yet established a presence. In such cases, people might have to travel to the nearest large town to make their purchase.

To address this, our dealers organise mobile service camps. When there is a critical mass of vehicles in need of repair in a particular area, we conduct camps there. This is not a revenue generating service; in fact we often spend more than we earn from these camps, but they are crucial for serving customers.

Over the last 12 months, Ola Electric has seen a bit of a dip in scooter sales. Many say that’s because legacy players are now becoming more competitive. Does this pose a threat to Ather Energy?

Ravneet Phokela: The last 12 months have been the most competitive we’ve ever seen in the electric two-wheeler space. Every major OEM has launched more products, expanded distribution, and fired their biggest shots, especially in the under INR 1 lakh segment.

Despite that intense competition, and without discounting, we held our ground, in fact, we gained market leadership in some areas. Even without a massive distribution scale-up, we’re growing.

This confidence isn’t blind optimism, it’s based on real market performance over the last 9 months.

So yes, the past year was a battle, but we came out stronger. The good news is that most competitors have already played their best cards. We’re better positioned now.

The post appeared first on .