Aether to Provide Assitance in EV Charging to Competitors, says CBO

Ather Energy's Chief Business Officer Ravneet S Phokela stated that the company is willing to provide free assistance to players in the electric vehicle space in order for them to adopt its charging connector, which has been recognised as a standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards, in order to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility. The electric two-wheeler manufacturer is also working to expand its own charging network from 1,600 to 2,500 by March 2024, while also negotiating the adoption of its charging connector with other manufacturers.

"This (charging connector) has an IP." "We're talking to a lot of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and telling them that if they want to adopt it, we'll help them get there," Phokela told PTI.

"Our engineers can come and work with your engineers so that you don't have a steep learning curve. We have already made the investments. We already know technologies, we will just help you adopt," Phokela told PTI.

He was responding to a question about whether Ather is willing to share its charging connector expertise with other EV manufacturers.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) approved Ather Energy's indigenously developed AC and DC combined charging connector as a standard for light electric vehicles (LEVs) – electric two- and three-wheelers, as well as micro cars – in October of this year.

"We are not planning to charge for this. From a larger philosophical standpoint, we do not want to compete on infrastructure. We want to work together on the charging side while competing on the vehicle side. "We want to accelerate charging infrastructure harmonisation," Phokela said.

He said Ather's charging connector has only been defined as a standard and there is no obligation for any OEM to adopt it.