Ather plans Rs 2,500 crore fundraise to fuel expansion drive

MUMBAI: The scooters are flying off the production line so fast that Ather now has a new challenge: finding room to build more of them. Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy is preparing to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore as surging demand pushes its manufacturing network close to full capacity and accelerates plans for expansion.

The company’s board approved a fundraising programme on June 12 that combines equity and convertible instruments. The proposal includes raising up to Rs 1,500 crore through a Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP), while another Rs 1,000 crore could come through avenues such as a rights issue, preferential issue, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) or other eligible securities.

The move comes as Ather’s factories are running at breakneck speed. Earlier in the day, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tarun Mehta revealed that capacity utilisation had crossed 90 per cent, adding that the company may soon need to “find ways to go above 100 per cent” to keep pace with demand.

To manage the process, Ather has set up a dedicated Fundraising Committee and will seek shareholder approval for the QIP through a postal ballot and e-voting process. Details including pricing, investor participation, conversion terms and listing arrangements will be finalised later in line with regulatory requirements.

The fresh capital is expected to play a key role in scaling up manufacturing, particularly at Ather’s upcoming third factory in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra. The company has already invested Rs 927 crore from the nearly Rs 3,000 crore it raised through its IPO last year towards the project.

“The new factory can’t go live fast enough,” Mehta remarked, underscoring the urgency of expanding production capacity.

Ather’s growth trajectory has been equally rapid on the sales front. The company sold 2.62 lakh electric two-wheelers during FY26, marking a 69 per cent jump from the previous financial year. That performance helped cement its position as India’s third-largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer by market share, behind TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto.

A significant chunk of those sales came during the January-March quarter, reflecting the broader acceleration in India’s electric mobility market. Investors have also taken notice, with Ather’s stock climbing more than 227 per cent over the past year.

As demand for electric scooters continues to gather speed, Ather’s latest fundraising plans suggest the company is shifting gears from growth to scale. The challenge now is no longer convincing consumers to go electric; it is building enough scooters to keep up with them.