Subsidy elimination not a giant concern: Ather Power’s Tarun Mehta

The phasing out of subsidy on electrical two-wheelers beneath the PM E-DRIVE scheme by the tip of the continuing monetary yr is not a giant concern for Ather Power, in line with the corporate’s co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta.

“We now have seen an excellent success on our capability to lift costs in our robust markets. We now have been in a position to undertake fixed worth hikes with good response from the market,” Mehta stated in an analyst name after the electrical two-wheeler maker introduced its second-quarter earnings.

“The upcoming subsidy elimination is not a giant concern. Our enterprise could be very effectively set as much as soak up that,” he stated.

The PM E-Drive scheme started with an incentive of ₹5,000 per kWh for electrical two-wheelers in October final yr and a cap of ₹10,000 per automobile. The subsidy was halved to ₹2,500 per kWh for FY26.

“As we undergo the ultimate set of subsidy elimination, there are a whole lot of constructive tailwinds on the income entrance. On the variable value entrance, we’ve seen robust enhancements in guarantee prices, invoice of supplies, the shift to LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries is paying off,” Mehta added.

Ather Power pipped Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electrical to emerge because the third-biggest electrical two-wheeler maker in October 2025. Ather Power recorded gross sales of 28,219 items as in opposition to 16,037 items bought by Ola, in line with information sourced from the federal government’s VAHAN portal.

India’s electrical automobile business confronted provide constraints this fiscal as China imposed curbs on exports of uncommon earth magnets.

Regardless of the uncommon earth disaster and the GST fee lower on internal-combustion engine (ICE) automobiles, the electrical two-wheeler business is exhibiting fairly a robust little bit of resistance and can develop, stated Mehta.

The Ather Power CEO stated that the electrical scooter business is transferring in the direction of merchandise priced over ₹1 lakh.

“The type of volumes that we had been seeing within the sub-₹1 lakh phase was not basic. Plenty of it was pushed development versus natural development. We now have seen very robust indicators of a whole lot of that market shrinking as a lot of the business is beginning to migrate to past ₹1 lakh worth factors. Should you see the expansion in north of 1 lakh phase, that has been very highly effective,” he stated.

On the federal government’s plan to make anti-lock braking programs (ABS) obligatory for two-wheelers from January 2026, Mehta stated, “We aren’t a giant fan of mandating issues. Plenty of this stuff ought to occur organically. Customers are demanding an increasing number of security. I feel the market will reward higher security merchandise. If ABS is remitted, we’re ready for it. Our total portfolio has entrance disc brake. So a few of the value that will improve due to ABS shouldn’t be a problem, limiting the associated fee improve to the ABS module.