Ather Energy, an India-based electric scooter manufacturer, has installed the 580th public fast charging point in India. Dubbed Ather Grid, these charging points are present across 56 cities in the country.
The Hero MotoCorp-backed start-up plans to install 820 more grids, taking the count to 1,400 by the end of FY23. These charging points have been strategically installed across markets, with 60% of current installations in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, noted Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy.
He said, 'As demand grows and we expand our retail network into new markets, it becomes imperative that we support the expansion with strong investments in charging infrastructure. In addition to setting up charging points, we recently opened up our proprietary charging connector for any OEM to adopt. We believe that OEMs need to collaborate when it comes to building infrastructure, and interoperability is a critical requirement for collaboration. Interoperability through a common charging connector provides an incentive to OEMs and independent charging infrastructure operators to make deeper investments in charging infrastructure.'
The Ather Grid allows EV owners to charge their vehicles up to 80% at 1.5 km/min. The charging network is supported by the app, which allows all EV owners to locate and check the availability of the nearest charging stations. All electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers can use the fast charging network, and this facility is being offered free of charge to everyone until the end of December 2022.
Further, the vehicle maker has partnered with multiple players like Park+, and Magenta Power and signed MoU with the Government of Karnataka to set up EV charging locations in various cities.