National, 6th June 2023: Scoring yet another industry first, Ather Energy, India’s leading electric scooter manufacturer, today announced a new 60-month vehicle loan product that will make EV scooters more affordable and accelerate its adoption in the world’s largest two-wheeler market. This is also the first time that a finance product with a tenure of 5 years has been rolled out in the EV industry.
Despite a long and successful track record of vehicle financing, Indian banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies) have until now refrained from exposing themselves to loan tenures longer than 36 months and 48 months under special circumstances.
Monthly repayment of the loan or EMI (equated monthly instalments) under the new 5-year vehicle loan offered by Ather can be as low as Rs 2,999, making it one of the most compelling financial products available for EV two-wheeler buyers in India.
Ravneet S. Phokela, Chief Business Officer Ather Energy, said, “Affordable vehicle loan products have for long been a critical last-mile enabler for the stupendous growth of the Indian two-wheeler market. The growing popularity of EV scooters in the country has necessitated the need for vehicle loan products with a longer tenure. It is an ongoing journey for us to ensure we make our scooters accessible to a wider audience, and attractive financing is an effective tool to quicken EV adoption in the country. As an industry pioneer, Ather has worked closely with some of India’s leading retail finance players, banks, and NBFCs to design and offer the country’s first 60-month EV loan product and pave the way for other OEMs. We believe this extended loan period will make EVs even more lucrative and bring in more customers. We hope and expect other two-wheeler brands, particularly in the EV market to also start offering a similar 60-month loan product to their customers.”
Ather has partnered with IDFC First, Bajaj Finance, and Hero FinCorp to offer India’s first 60-month EV two-wheeler loan and expects more retail financiers and banks to join hands to strengthen its pioneering effort.
India’s current global stature as one of the leading automobile markets owes a good part of its success to a robust retail finance industry in the country, a fact best highlighted by the two-wheeler market. Three out of every four vehicles sold in India are two-wheelers, and again three of every four of these are bought with loans. Given the relatively premium price of the current generation of EV scooters in the country and its increasing popularity, the time was just ripe for Ather to step in to create a pioneering financial product for its perfectly engineered fourth-generation performance scooters.
“Since November 2022, we have seen the number of customers who opt for loans increase from 20% to 50% now. With the segment poised to grow in the coming years, attractive EV financing schemes are even more relevant and they will be crucial to fuel the industry’s growth in the coming years. I am very happy that Ather is the first to offer a 60-month loan in the Indian EV two-wheeler industry,” Ravneet added.
Despite being a recent entrant in one of the most fiercely competitive two-wheeler markets in the world, Ather is already recognised as an industry-pioneer. As an electric mobility start-up, founded by two “industry outsiders”, Ather built India’s first aluminium frame scooter, with first smart vehicle implementation (touchscreen interface, navigation, on-board diagnostics, and mobile and data connectivity) and the first to deliver a field proven technology stack (Connected Charger, Battery Pack, BMS, Motors, Motor controllers).
The superior quality of Ather scooters that comes with another industry-first five year warranty, was one of the key reasons for banks to extend loan tenure for Ather customers to five years.
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