Ather Energy, India’s first smart electric scooter manufacturer, has announced its partnership with IDFC bank to offer a first-in-the-industry EV financing option to its customers. Now, consumers have an easy option to upgrade and own a much smarter and faster Ather 450X scooter by incurring the same monthly expense as that of a conventional petrol scooter. This scheme is expected to make Ather scooters more accessible to customers by offering a lucrative financing option to customers and drive faster adoption of electric vehicles.
The scheme also provides the flexibility to customers to purchase an Ather 450X with a down payment as low as 5% of the on-road price applicable in the respective city, while financing the remaining amount at an interest rate of 8.5% per annum. However, for the first time in the E2W space, IDFC is offering all this at a 48 month loan tenure, making the EMIs extremely easy to afford. Practically, at a lower cost, consumers can bring home a modern, performance-oriented scooter that is equipped with smart features like reverse assist, document storage, navigation, and theft and tow notifications.
Ravneet S. Phokela,Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy, said, “While government subsidies and incentives have played a major role in beginning the transition to EVs in the country, EV financing will play a crucial role in bringing in the next phase of growth for the industry. The EV financing scheme introduced today in partnership with IDFC Bank is a significant step in many ways towards driving faster adoption of electric 2-wheelers in the country. The scheme offers a first-ever 48 monthtenureship on Ather’s electric scooters. This is significant as it provides tremendous assurance to first time customers on their concerns around warranty, resale, battery life and replacements costs. Now a customer buying a much superior Ather 450X with this scheme would have the same monthly expense as that of owning a 125cc scooter, making our scooters more accessible for a wider customer base across the country. This will enable us to create demand much faster in the coming months as we look to increase our Experience Centres in newer cities and towns.”
“It is also crucial to note that Ather is the first OEM in the industry that has received a 48 month tenure for its scooters which reiterates the trust that our financial partners have on our robust and reliable performance of our vehicles. With several fire incidents around EVs, consumers are not only looking for good quality electric vehicles. To support this, financial institutions are coming forward and translating their understanding of product quality into longer term EMI. The resale of Ather 450X which has been in the field for more than 4 years now exudes confidence in the consumers and financiers alike.”added Ravneet
IDFC First Bank was an early adopter of the EV market and has established itself as a bankable partner for Ather’s customers. Today, IDFC accounts for about 16% of the Ather Energy customer base. IDFC offers loans to new-to-credit customers (those with no credit history), which account for roughly 20 to 25 percent of the overall buyer segment. This has become a critical cohort as the company is expanding into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Mr. Rishi Kant Mishra, Business Head, Vehicle Loans said “IDFC First Bank has been amongst the front runners in electric two-wheeler financing. Our ever-evolving offerings to match diverse customer segments and our end-to-end digitized customer journey will add tremendous value to Ather Energy’s customer financing experience”
Ather Energy has grown phenomenally in 2022, with a 202% Y-o-Y growth (April-October) in the numberof active Ather scooters on-road. The company registered its highest-ever monthly sales by delivering 8,213 units in October 2022. The company anticipates sustained growth in demand and is investing heavily in building a favorable EV ecosystem in the country. Ather has installed 600+ fast-charging stations across 55+ cities in India, to alleviate range and charging anxiety and plans to install 1400 Ather Grids by the end of FY23. The company plans to expand its retail presence to 150 outlets in 100+ cities by March 2023.