Latest news with #TarunMehta
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
41st anniversary of The Times of India, Bengaluru: EVS blaze trail for rest of country
Representative Image By: Tarun Mehta Bengaluru has always been a step ahead of the curve. Long before something becomes obvious to the rest of the country, this city finds a way to make it real. You saw it when India's software story first took root here, with companies like Infosys and Wipro quietly turning an unknown industry into India's global B calling card. You saw it again when Flipkart rewrote how India shops, and Swiggy changed how India eats. You can see it now in how Bengaluru is shaping India's deep tech and electric vehicle story. It is not by accident. Bengaluru is one of the few cities where you can build from scratch. If you are trying to put something new on the road, you will find what you need here: design labs, talented engineers, machine shops, early adopters, and investors ready to bet on an idea that is still just a sketch. Once that idea becomes a prototype, you'll find people ready to test it, break it, tell you what works and what does not, and come back next week to do it all over again. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Over the decades, this has turned Bengaluru into an unstoppable ecosystem for ambitious builders. Walk into a café in Koramangala or a co-working space in HSR Layout, and you will see this spirit in action, with founders swapping notes, engineers debating design challenges, and students hoping to join the next big thing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why this MBA won't break the bank SRM Online Learn More Undo This constant flow of talent and ideas is why Bengaluru stays resilient when things do not go to plan and moves faster when they do. Before the rest of India was fully online, Bengaluru was already building software for the world. By the 2010s, it was the testing ground for early experiments in e-commerce, payments, and hyperlocal delivery while much of the country was still warming up to smartphones. Not every bet paid off, but the habit of trying, failing, learning, and trying again built the muscle for what came next. The same mindset that built India's IT backbone helped Bengaluru become the launchpad for India's internet startups and laid the groundwork for the EV and hardware wave. Electric vehicles were a natural extension of that journey. As usual, Bengaluru did not wait for them to become mainstream. It backed them up early. Today, Bengaluru's EV penetration is more than double the national average, one of the highest across India's major cities. But it is not just the number of vehicles on the road that matters. It is the entire ecosystem around them. OEMs, suppliers, battery pack makers, software firms building fleet tools, and EVonly aggregators all operate here. You can design, prototype, test, and scale an entire EV platform without ever leaving the city. The city's charging network has grown just as quickly as EV adoption. Today, it is normal to find charging points at tech parks, apartment basements, cafés, gyms, and malls. This network exists thanks to early pushes like Bescom's grid expansion, combined with the efforts of OEMs and charge point operators who have connected every corner of the city. The same software, IoT, and clean energy talent that shaped our internet boom now solves practical charging, payment, and energy management challenges every day. For us, at Ather, Bengaluru has been home for more than a decade now. When we started out in 2013, the idea of building a premium electric scooter in India felt impossible. The supply chain was not ready. Charging networks did not exist. But in Bengaluru, we found people who would back such dreams. From investors, to customers, to cheerleaders. Our earliest customers were practically like co-builders for us. They showed up for test rides, gave feedback nobody asked for but everybody needed, forgave early bugs and pushed us to keep raising the bar. Some of my favourite moments are still the open-house sessions we held here. Announce one on a Friday, and by Saturday morning the room is full of people ready to share exactly what they love and what they want fixed. This mindset turned a risky bet into something real. Karnataka's early policy push helped, too. In 2017, the state became one of the first in India to roll out a clear and comprehensive EV and Energy Storage Policy. This policy laid out incentives for manufacturers, support for R&D, and for expanding the charging infrastructure that was almost non-existent at the time, while also giving end users the confidence and incentives to adopt EVs. By providing clarity and confidence to suppliers, startups and investors, Karnataka made it possible for an entire ecosystem to take shape here, long before the rest of the country fully caught on. It signalled that building and adopting EVs wasn't just an idea; it was a priority worth betting on. Today, Bengaluru is India's EV hub and the blueprint for where our next deep-tech breakthroughs will come from. Whether it's new battery chemistries, better grids or hardware we have not even imagined yet, the same fundamentals hold true: builders need the freedom to try, fail and try again; policymakers need to back that risk with clarity and intent; and early adopters need to show up, stay patient and shape the rough edges into something real. That's how this city moves first and keeps the rest of India moving forward. The writer is co-founder & CEO of Ather Energy
Mint
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Light rare earths, no magnets, and a resolve to break free of China's iron grip
New Delhi: Indian auto component and two-wheeler makers have devised a plan to break free from China's stranglehold on magnets: replace heavy rare-earth elements with light ones, or better yet, build magnet-free automotive motors. Sona Comstar, the country's eighth largest parts maker, has developed new motors using light rare earth elements like cerium, samarium and neodymium,according to a top company Energy Ltd's co-founder and chief executive Tarun Mehta, too, toldMintthat the two-wheeler industry can move towards light rare earth Ola Electric's founder and managing director Bhavish Aggarwal informed investors on Monday that the company has developed magnet-free motors, which will be installed in vehicles whose deliveries will start in the October to December quarter. Rare earth elements, while abundant but not easily found in large mineable deposits, are known for their unique magnetic and luminescent properties. They are widely used in automotive motors and LED lights. China dominates the refining and supply of 90% of heavy rare earths or those with higher atomic weight, according to estimatesby the International Energy its share in light rare earths is estimated to be lower at 60-70%, making the supply chain more diverse. Gurugram-based Sona Comstar said light rare earth solutions can be used in the medium term by two- and three-wheeler makers, and even small car manufacturers, as they require less power to run. '[But] all these alternative motors would require months of testing and validation with customers before commercial production can begin," Vivek Vikram Singh, managing director and group chief executive at Sona Comstar, said in response toMint'squeries. 'In the short term, there is no alternative to Chinese heavy rare earth element (HREE) magnets, but in the medium term, HREE-free magnets can be used as viable alternatives…"About 41% of Sona Comstar's revenue in the financial year 2025 came from the manufacturing of micro/plug-in hybrid starter motors, traction motors and controllers, conventional starter motors and suspension motors. Traction motors, which power electric vehicles, require magnets. Other types of motors can also use rare earth magnets for compactness and high performance, but they can operate without them as well. 'For the last couple of years, we have been developing rare-earth-free motors," Ola Electric said in a shareholder's letter. 'We accelerated this program in April when the rare earth cuts happened and have already productionised our rare-earth-free motors, which will be coming into our products starting next quarter." Diversified supply chain China started restricting exports of rare earths in April after trade tensions worsened with the US due to tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration. Indian automakers raised an alarm soon after. In May, Bajaj Auto Ltd said after the company's January-March results that the entire electric vehicle business would be threatened due to new restrictions imposed by China on exports. China imposed restrictions on seven rare-earth elements, mostly heavy rare earths including yttrium, scandium, lutetium and dysprosium. 'The supply chain for light rare-earth elements (LREEs)…is more diversified than that for heavy rare-earth elements (HREEs), as LREEs (like cerium and lanthanum) are more abundant in different countries, including India, and are less affected by China's specific restrictions," said Rishabh Jain, senior programme lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). Ather Energy's Mehta said, 'The industry has a way of moving past this. Stop using heavy rare-earth magnets. Unlike cars, trucks, or buses, our industry can build motors without using heavy, rare-earth magnets. We can move towards lighter, rare-earth magnets." Doubts on efficiency However, there are still doubts regarding whether the efficiency of heavy rare earth magnets can be matched. 'The ongoing research indicates that substituting heavy rare earths or even neodymium with more abundant light rare earths like cerium can result in reduced magnetic strength and thermal stability, meaning a loss in performance at high temperatures, which are crucial for automotive and high-efficiency motor applications," CEEW's Jain said. 'Substituting HREEs with cerium in neodymium-based magnets can reduce costs but requires 20–30% more material to match HREE performance, thus increasing motor size/weight." Companies, including Sona Comstar, are working on finding solutions to ensure performance does not suffer due to the change in elements. Yet, not many solutions are still available for heavy passenger vehicles. 'For larger power motors for larger vehicles, these alternatives (light rare earths) seem difficult without sacrificing efficiency, range and/or cost," Singh of Sona Comstar said. Earlier, Reuters reported that Sona Comstar is also looking to make rare earth magnets within the country to become self-sufficient in the supply chain. Pricing concerns Industry executives also worry that there will be a rush for light rare earth elements, which are found in abundance outside of China, but can still lead to disruptions and increases in prices. This suggests that in the long term, magnet-free motors can also become viable. Ola Electric finds magnet-free motors a better solution as they have managed to match the performance of magnet-based motors, according to its letter to investors. 'These motors ensure no business continuity risk, are parity in performance and save money as rare earth magnets are costly." According to Ankit Somani, co-founder at Conifer, a rare earth magnet-free motor maker, although light rare earth production is more diversified, the processing is still dominated by China. 'Moreover, there is a rush already from across the globe for securing light rare earths from countries other than China, which has led to price increases and longer lead times."
Mint
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Ather Energy says tech innovation, not sales volume, will win profitability race
Next Story Ayaan Kartik , Varun Sood Ather Energy CEO Tarun Mehta asserts that profit margins in the electric two-wheeler sector depend more on technology and process improvements than sales volume. Ather aims to enhance engineering and design to compete with rivals like Ola Electric and Bajaj, which are also pursuing profitability. Tarun Mehta, co-founder and chief executive, Ather Energy. Gift this article Delhi and Bengaluru: Ather Energy Ltd believes that selling more vehicles will not give any electric two-wheeler maker an edge in terms of better profit margins, as all companies have similar cost structures due to access to the same supply chain. Delhi and Bengaluru: Ather Energy Ltd believes that selling more vehicles will not give any electric two-wheeler maker an edge in terms of better profit margins, as all companies have similar cost structures due to access to the same supply chain. Instead, it is investments in technology with a focus on improving processes that could help two-wheeler EV makers achieve better margins, according to the Bengaluru-based company's co-founder and chief executive Tarun Mehta. 'Volume has played a minimal role in unit economics over the years. There's a ton of value engineering. There's a lot of process optimisation, and then there's a lot of technology improvement to bring in, which improves cost structures. Engineering is the superpower." Break-even still eludes The comments from the co-founder of the country's fourth-largest electric two-wheeler company come at a time when its legacy and new-age rivals are looking to scale up their overall sales in the segment. Currently, no electric two-wheeler company has achieved a break-even point for its EV business. However, Ola Electric, Bajaj Auto and Hero have charted a path to profitability at a time when the top five electric two-wheeler companies have taken nearly 90% of the overall market share. In FY25, the country sold 1.15 million electric two-wheelers, a 21% increase over the previous financial year. Also read | Ather CEO says EV maker to remain 'unaffected' amid China restrictions All these companies are lining up new launches and looking to scale up sales. Hero MotoCorp, the largest shareholder in Ather, noted in its earnings call for the January to March period that it aims to scale up its monthly volumes to 25,000-30,000 units over the next two years, up from an average of 4,000 units in the last fiscal year. Ola Electric, Ather's start-up rival, is targeting 25,000 sales per month to achieve Ebitda-level break-even. Meanwhile, legacy players TVS and Bajaj have also seen growth in their EV sales, with both surpassing 230,000 units in the financial year 2025. In FY26, both TVS and Bajaj have taken the lead as sales pick up. Not concerned by sales gap However, Mehta is not concerned about the sales gap with legacy players. 'Everybody's betting on growth. Cost structures are similar at the buy level. So the difference between us and competitors is not an earth-shattering number," Mehta opined. 'Your cost differences don't come about as much from scale. Scale has an impact, but a much larger impact is in engineering and design, which is why we are choosing to focus so heavily on these areas. The real race is between whether the competition can catch up on tech first or whether we can catch up on distribution first," Mehta said. With a focus on technology, Ather is also planning to double its distribution network from 351 stores in FY25 to 700 by the end of the current financial year. Ather counts Bajaj, TVS and Ola Electric Ltd as its rivals. The company sold 130,944 vehicles in the last financial year. Analysts suggest that the push for profitability must consider both volume and improvements in efficiency through technology-related enhancements. 'It has to be a mix of both. Supply chain initiatives must support volume growth. If you look at the gross margin, ICE players are in the 35-40% range, while Ola and Ather had a margin of 18-20% last year. So margins have to be improved through technological advancement in the supply chain, but volumes also have to grow," Subhabrata Sengupta, partner, Avalon Consulting. Since listing in May, Ather's share price has increased by 10%, while the Nifty Auto index has risen by 3%. Topics You May Be Interested In Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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Business Standard
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
PLI auto scheme for e2Ws needs to be revisited: Ather Energy Cofounder, CEO
PLI should've been directed at startups - the real pushers of innovation, Tarun Mehta said premium Listen to This Article Months after Ather Energy's initial public offering (IPO), cofounder & chief executive officer (CEO) Tarun Mehta discusses policy hurdles, why premium electric vehicles are the future, and how the company is gearing up for the next phase of expansion, in an interview with Surajeet Das Gupta in Bengaluru. Ather has been operating at a disadvantage by not qualifying for the government's PLI scheme, which offers incentives of 13–16 per cent. How do you cope with what you've called a 'non-level playing field'? The production-linked incentive (PLI) auto scheme had gaps that excluded promising players like us from applying, and
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Opposition slams mayor, BJP for financial crisis in Chandigarh municipal corporation
1 2 Chandigarh: Carrying large posters of fake cheques, placards, and raising slogans, opposition parties AAP and Congress slammed city mayor and the BJP for failing to secure any additional financial support from the Chandigarh administration or the central government during the general house meeting on Tuesday. Carrying fake cheques of Rs 238 crore and Rs 92 crore, amounts the BJP had previously claimed would be sanctioned soon, the opposition lambasted the saffron party, accusing it of misleading the public with figures that were neither approved nor received by the municipal corporation to date. Congress councillor and deputy mayor Tarun Mehta questioned how much money had been received but got no satisfactory answer. The opposition's protest gained traction, especially after a BJP councillor had celebrated in the last general house meeting by distributing sweets and claiming that Rs 200 crore would be received soon. However, not a single rupee has arrived so far, drawing sharp criticism toward the saffron party. This isn't the first time. Earlier, the BJP had also claimed that Rs 92 crore was received in Jan, which turned out to be untrue. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Zumbido e perda de audição? Médico revela técnica caseira de 1 real para aliviar! Zumbido no ouvido Undo Carrying a lock in her hand, AAP councillor Premlata mocked the mayor, symbolising the shutdown of the MC amid what she described as the worst financial crisis in its history. She pointed out that all developmental work had come to a standstill. "The rainy season is approaching, roads are riddled with potholes and damaged in many areas, and the cleaning of road gullies is still incomplete. The city is in a bad state," she told the mayor. With the financial crisis at the MC worsening, the municipal commissioner informed councillors that the MC currently lacks sufficient funds to carry out development works. Despite repeated appeals to the UT administration, no additional financial assistance has been granted for the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Amit Kumar on Tuesday gave his dissent note on the issue of the removal of employees. Since the municipal councillors were asking not to remove the employees from service at any cost, but citing the norms, rules, and regulations, officers said that the extension has been given till the end of June, but after that, the matter will be reviewed. While putting pressure again and again, the commissioner gave a dissent note on this matter. Also, an altercation was witnessed between two BJP municipal councillors. Heated arguments ensued between BJP councillor Kanwar Rana and Dalip Sharma over agenda items. Rana was avoiding discussing the agenda until the tender documents related to employees were presented before the house members, which he demanded, while Sharma said that the discussion over agendas should be allowed until the papers come before the house. This ruckus forced the mayor to call for a break. Later, an altercation was witnessed between BJP's Kanwar Rana and AAP's Ram Chander Yadav.
