Giving Ather Energy, a Bengaluru-headquartered electric bike manufacturer, a new boost of presence and expanding its reach, the company's all-new Ather Energy 450X Gen 3 will be made available on major e-commerce platform Flipkart. The new partnership will allow Ather to reach a wider customer base, while customers can enjoy a seamless experience.
"We've entered into a partnership with Flipkart to launch the Ather Energy 450X Gen 3 scooters on the Flipkart platform. We are initially piloting this in Delhi NCR and will roll out to the rest of the country soon. Exciting stuff and lots more to come!" Ather's chief business officer Ravneet Phokela said on Wednesday.
By expanding Ather's presence to the online domain, Phokela has assured that its offline channels will remain unaffected. He said that the Experience Centres will continue to serve customers, where they can get a test ride, feel of the product and place an order. But if the customer is already aware of the product and simply wishes to proceed with purchase, Flipkart will serve as a comfortable alternative.
"We continue expanding our distribution footprint and will be in 90 cities and 120 Experience Centres by FY '23. The awareness will be built through our offline distribution and our marketing channels," Phokela said.
Ather's performance and funding
The sales of Hero Moto Corp-backed Ather Energy e-bikes are already on a spike. It saw a massive jump at selling 5,239 vehicles, from a mere 1,289 in July.
In May, Ather Energy raised $128 million in a funding round led by sovereign wealth fund National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) and existing backer Hero MotoCorp, which invested nearly $56 million in the round. It is worth pointing out here that Flipkart's co-founder and investor Sachin Bansal had invested Rs 170 crore ($23 million) in Ather Energy in November 2020.
