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Ather Energy’s new Hosur Factory Visit: How two of India’s best electric scooters are made

With the new Hosur factory, Ather Energy’s production capacity has multiplied by 10 times and hence, the waiting period for 450X and 450 Plus electric scooters is expected to come down soon.

Ather Energy’s new Hosur Factory Visit: How two of India’s best electric scooters are made

 

If there is one manufacturer that certainly led the foundation of the premium electric scooter segment in India in true sense, well, the credit has to go to Ather Energy. The Bengaluru-based start-up started its journey with 340 and 450 electric scooters. While the 340 was discontinued long back due to low demand, the 450 has been replaced by two of its advanced versions namely 450 Plus and the more performance-focussed 450X and these two are currently on sale in India. Now, with aggressive pan India expansion plans, Ather Energy had to boost the production capacity and for that, it recently shifted its Whitefield factory to a sprawling new facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Express Drives was recently invited to have a visit to this facility and hence, we witnessed how two of India’s finest electric scooters are made.

Watch video | How Ather 450X, 450 Plus electric scooters are made:

Ather’s new Hosur factory is spread across an area of 1,23,000 sq ft and has an annual capacity of 1.10 lakh electric scooters and 1.20 lakh lithium-ion battery packs. Moreover, if the company sees substantially rising demand in the future, it is ready for that as well as the new facility is scalable by three times. All that Ather needs to do is just remove an adjoining wall and this will ramp up the number of 4 to 5 lakh units. The production of Ather 450X and 450 Plus electric scooters takes place on a 37-station assembly line that is manned by around 70 workers.

First, a basic skeleton is made by joining the one-of-its-kind aluminium chassis and rear subframe after which, the battery pack and electric motor are bolted on this. Following this is the fitment of wheels, suspension and other key components after which touchscreen dashboard, lights and body panels are made. As the scooter progresses towards the final stations on the floor-mounted conveyor belt, it has to go through a rigorous quality check after which it heads for Dyno test during which acceleration, braking, top reverse mode and other performance aspects of the scooter are evaluated.

Finally, before the scooter is marked ‘Ok’ for delivery, it also has to go through a 1 km real-world test. The new facility has been set up with an investment of Rs 130 crore and the company will be investing Rs 635 crore over the next five years. With the new factory, Ather says that it has ramped up its production capacity by almost 10 times.

For more details on Ather Energy’s new Hosur factory and to watch how the 450X and 450 Plus electric scooters are made, check out the video above!

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First published on: 26-02-2021 at 13:20 IST
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