The board of Hero MotoCorp passed a resolution to invest Rs 550 crore via Series E2 compulsory convertible preference shares.
The motorcycle giant already owns a 34.2% stake in Ather and is its largest shareholder, according to data from Tracxn. In January last year, Hero partially led a dollar 128 million fundraise into Ather.
The firm was last valued at dollar 739 million during a dollar 50 million fundraise in October last year, per Tracxn. Media reports suggested that the firm was set to raise a further dollar 250-million at a dollar 1.3 billion valuation this year, but shelved the plans amid the broader tech funding winter and a hit to sales after the rollback of the government’s Faster Adoption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) subsidies in June.
In August, Ather sold 6,835 units, according to Vahan, the government’s portal for automobile registration. This is opposed to the sale of 12,184 in March this year, and 15,420 units in May this year, both while the FAME-II subsidies were still valid. Over 59,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in August, with Ola Electric selling 17,389 units to remain the biggest player in the market.On August 11, Ather launched an entry-level electric scooter model 450S with a 115 km range. Its existing model, 450X, comes with either a 115-km range or a 145-km range. A few days later, rival Ola Electric launched a new scooter model, the Ola S1 X. Ola also said it plans to launch electric bikes in four variations by the end of 2024.According to the annual report from largest shareholder Hero Motocorp, Ather’s revenue from operations jumped over four times to Rs 1,806.1 crore in FY23. However, the firm’s losses also widened by over 150% to Rs 864.5 crore.