At its annual Ather Community Day event on Saturday, the company unveiled its EL platform, its first new vehicle architecture since the 450. Mehta said this would enable Ather to launch a wider range of scooters — commuter, maxi and sportier variants — over the coming years, while still maintaining a premium experience. “I don’t think the market is for products below ₹1 lakh. Going below that, we’re just leaving money on the table and not building a good enough experience,” he noted.
Alongside scooters, Ather showcased Redux, a crossover concept between scooter and motorcycle, signalling eventual entry into the electric motorcycle segment. While still one to two years away, Mehta said Ather was “investing deeply in R&D for motorcycles.”Also Read: Exclusive: Ather’s Tarun Mehta says PLI policy ‘not startup-friendly’, calls for rethink
The company’s biggest push, however, is on distribution. Mehta said Ather plans to expand from 200 outlets today to 400 this year, with a target of 700 stores by FY26. “The story for FY26 for us is simply: expanding distribution. That’s the biggest piece that anybody should track,” he told CNBC-TV18.
Still, policy hurdles remain. Mehta expressed disappointment that Ather did not qualify for the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme despite what he called some of the highest investments in EV R&D globally. “If we had PLI, we would be able to launch even lower-cost products. But we can’t compete in those strategies today, because the definition wasn’t startup-friendly,” he argued.
For FY26, Mehta summed up Ather’s focus in one phrase: expanding distribution. With a new platform, broader product line-up and a growing retail footprint, the company is aiming for both improved margins and a 20% share of India’s EV scooter market.
