Electric two-wheeler (E2W) maker Ather Energy will completely eliminate the use of heavy rare earth elements in the magnets used for its motor systems, transitioning to light rare earth alternatives to mitigate global supply chain risks, co-founder and CTO Swapnil Jain told FE.
Rare earth elements are critical for permanent magnets in EV motors. Heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium—sourced largely from China—have been hit by export restrictions and supply disruptions. By contrast, light rare earths like neodymium and praseodymium are more abundant and face fewer geopolitical risks.“We had a very small component of heavy rare earth in our motors, which we have gotten rid of. Our motors will continue to utilise light rare earth elements on which we don’t see any supply chain risks at the moment,” Jain said. The switch, which he described as a simple component replacement, is expected to be completed within the next 45 days.
Heavy rare earth magnets can withstand higher operating temperatures—up to 150°C compared with 120–130°C for light rare earths. Addressing concerns over efficiency and performance, Jain said internal testing showed that Ather’s motors never reached temperatures that justified the use of heavy rare earths. “In our test, we realised that our magnets were actually not reaching that kind of temperature. So, we had no reason to actually use heavy rare earth. We had a very small element of heavy rare earth to begin with,” he said, adding that performance will not be affected by the transition.
New platforms and revenue streams
Looking ahead, Jain outlined a cautious rollout plan for Ather’s next-generation EL platform. “Tentatively somewhere around festive next year is what we will be looking at to get the product into the market,” he said, referring to the festive season of 2026.The careful approach stems from the simultaneous launch of a new platform, new products, and a new production facility. “The entire platform itself. The platform is new and the product is new. And also the production facility is new. So this is the highest amount of novelty which you can bring in a product,” Jain explained.
Engineering a solution to supply chain woes
Currently, Ather operates two vehicle assembly lines and three battery pack lines at its Hosur facility in Tamil Nadu, with an annual installed capacity of 420,000 E2Ws and 380,000 battery packs. After its new factory goes live, total installed capacity will rise to 1.42 million E2Ws per year.
In FY25, Ather saw its revenue per scooter fall by 12% as it shifted focus to its affordable family scooter Rizta, which now contributes nearly 60% of total sales. Jain, however, attributed most of the 10–12% drop in per-unit revenue to subsidy cuts rather than Rizta’s mass-market positioning.”One of the big reasons for revenue per scooter coming down is subsidy going down by `5,000 per vehicle which also shows up as a revenue loss. So it’s not entirely the success of Ritza,” he said.
Alongside hardware, Ather is sharpening its focus on software as a key differentiator and revenue stream. “We believe that a large part of our differentiation is going to come from software. And obviously, we also want people to pay for it,” Jain said.“In the past years, we have seen that a lot of people just threw software as a candy to attract customers. But they didn’t really commit to it. It was more like a gimmick than anything else,” he added.