Latest news with #FasterAdoptionandManufacturingofElectric
Economic Times
26-04-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Ather Energy lists losses since inception, negative cash flows as key risks to IPO
ETtech Ather Energy founder Tarun Mehta Ather Energy will enter the primary market next week. A cause for cheer on IPO street — which hasn't seen a mainboard entry in the past two months — the public offer comes with its own set of risks. From a long list, shaky financials, cash burn, and stagnant market share are the key ones to look out the red herring prospectus (RHP) for its IPO, Ather mentioned that it has incurred losses since its incorporation. The company came into being in 2013. The electric scooter maker reported stagnant revenue at Rs 1,753.8 crore in fiscal 2024 and Rs 1,578.9 crore in the first nine months of fiscal 2025, the document shows. Profit has been elusive, with the bottom-line print showing losses of Rs 344.1 crore, Rs 864.5 crore, and Rs 1,059.7 crore for fiscals 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. In the nine months to December 2024, the company has logged losses of Rs 577.9 dipped in the fiscal year ending March 2024 on-year, mainly due to reduced Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME), Ather said. This caused the electric scooters' prices to rise and sales to decline. The launch of new low-priced models — Ather 450X (2.9 kWh) and Ather 450S — along with the premium offering, the Ather 450 Apex, partially offset the decline in revenue, it said."We may continue to incur operating losses as we invest in expanding our manufacturing capabilities, distribution network, product portfolio, and charging infrastructure. We may not realise the expected returns from such investments in the future. There is also no assurance that we will be able to increase our revenue in the future," Ather said in the RHP. "Profitability will depend on many factors." Also Read: Ather IPO: Here's what the e-scooter maker plans to do with the funds Persistent cash burnAther has logged negative cash flows from operations continuously since its incorporation in October 2013. According to the figures furnished in the RHP, the EV maker saw negative cash flow from operations to the tune of Rs 228.4 crore, Rs 871.3 crore, and Rs 267.6 crore in fiscals 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively, while nine months to December 2024 saw cash burn levels at Rs 717.1 crore."We may continue to incur negative cash flows as we invest in expanding our manufacturing capabilities, distribution network, product portfolio, and charging infrastructure," said Ather. Fourth in market share race As competition intensifies in the electric two-wheeler space, with big players like Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor eyeing a piece of the pie, Ather Energy has been struggling with stagnant market share. As of December 31, 2024, the company stood a distant fourth with a market share of 10.7 percent, compared to Ola Electric Mobility with 34.1 percent share, TVS Motor with 19.4 percent, and Bajaj Auto with 18.1 percent. At the end of March 2024, Ather had a market share of 11.5 percent, and by December 2023, it was 11.3 percent. What analysts say After a recent meeting with the Ather Energy management, brokerage house Nuvama noted that the company will benefit from the "mega EV trend." The brokerage mentioned that the company is focusing on two new offerings — the EL scooter and the Zenith motorcycle — to expand the addressable key risks to the company, Ather had mentioned the concentration of its business in southern India, which accounted for 61 percent of its sales in the first nine months of fiscal 2015. It is now looking to expand to other parts of the country as well, Nuvama is also adding capacity with a new manufacturing facility at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra. The first phase of the upcoming facility will add five lakh units a year by March 2027. At its full potential, the plant will produce 10 lakh units. The company currently operates a facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, with an annual capacity of 4.2 lakh electric two-wheelers and 3.8 lakh battery packs.
Mint
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
MHI considers subsidy push for e-trucks in greener closed loop operations
New Delhi: The ministry of heavy industries (MHI) is working on a plan to incentivize electric trucks operating in what are called closed loop operations under the ₹ 10,900 crore PM E-drive scheme, according to two persons aware of the development. A closed loop operation refers to these zero-emission vehicles running on shorter routes, with a focus on recycling energy, and reducing wastage through automated systems. This comes in the backdrop of Union government allocating ₹ 500 crore towards reducing e-truck ownership costs under the electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme announced in October 2024. Stakeholder consultations for the rollout of e-truck subsidies are in progress, and incentivising these vehicles in closed loop operations was also discussed along with manufacturers, said one of the persons mentioned above, requesting anonymity. Also read | Maharashtra orders shutting down of 121 unauthorized Ola Electric stores As part of these consultations, the government is also considering two subsidy models for e-trucks, either ₹ 5,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery size, or ₹ 7,500 per kilowatt-hour. This could provide e-truck buyers with a maximum one-time incentive of ₹ 19 lakh per unit, according to the persons mentioned above. Battery recycling is a crucial part of closed loop e-truck operations. Companies which use e-trucks can recycle their used batteries to extract critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and manganese. A November 2024 McKinsey study on e-trucks said that most large truck manufacturers are likely to pursue strategic partnerships for recycling in a closed loop. This would allow the truck maker to retain control over the metals in the battery throughout the life cycle, the study said. PM E-drive continues the model of previous incentive schemes such as the two iterations of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) vehicles, where the manufacturers sell EVs at a subsidized price, and the government reimburses them for the difference. Also read | After decades making ICE parts, they decided to make EVs. It hasn't gone well The subsidy plan for e-trucks comes at a time when e-truck manufacturers in India are dealing with squeezed margins compared with their global counterparts. Indian manufacturers operate with Ebitda margins typically below 10%, while their US and European counterparts achieve 12-15%, an April 2025 report by the Niti Aayog said. "Financial support and R&D subsidies are crucial to help Indian truck OEMs invest in advanced fuel technologies without financial strain," the report said. It added that making standardized battery packs for e-trucks was a challenge due to unreliable supplies and cost of raw material such as lithium, manganese, and cobalt. "Developing alternative materials and recycling programmes can stabilize the supply chain for key raw materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese," the report suggested. E-trucks were identified as a sunrise sector for government subsidies under the PM E-drive scheme in an effort to reduce carbon emissions in the freight industry. But, with less than a year left in the scheme and localization guidelines for the zero-emission trucks yet to be notified, progress has been marginal. Also read | Why battery swapping for EVs remains a non-starter in India Mint reported on 6 April that the government was rushing to identify industries which could generate demand for e-trucks including steel, logistics, and ports. This came after e-truck makers had asked the ministry of heavy industries for an 18-month period to comply with localization norms under the scheme in November 2024. E-truck subsidies are deemed important due to the high upfront cost of buying such vehicles. 'E-trucks are significantly more expensive upfront—sometimes costing up to four times more than diesel counterparts," said Dhiraj Agarwal, chief business officer, Mufin Green Finance , a company that lends towards EVs.
