Hero MotoCorp commits another ₹1,000 crore to Ather Energy
Hero MotoCorp, India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has approved an additional investment of up to ₹1,000 crore in Ather Energy, the electric scooter company where it already holds a 29.48% stake. The investment, cleared by Hero’s Committee of Directors on July 14, 2026, will be made through a preferential allotment of shares or convertible securities, subject to approvals from Ather’s board and shareholders. The move deepens Hero’s bet on a fast-growing EV associate whose annual revenue has nearly doubled to ₹3,671.76 crore in FY26, and reinforces a dual-track electric strategy where Hero backs Ather alongside building its own VIDA brand.
Ather’s trajectory: revenue nearly doubled in a year
Ather’s turnover has accelerated sharply over three years. The company reported revenue of ₹1,753.8 crore in FY24, ₹2,255 crore in FY25, and ₹3,671.76 crore in FY26 — a 63% jump in the latest year alone. Hero’s existing 29.48% stake, held on a fully diluted basis as of June 30, 2026, already makes it a significant shareholder in one of India’s few listed pure-play electric two-wheeler companies.
The investment amount — up to ₹1,000 crore in cash — is substantial even by Hero’s standards. For context, Hero’s total capex for all of FY26 was ₹1,100 crore on a consolidated basis. The company generated operating cash flow of ₹8,314.62 crore in FY26, up sharply from ₹4,297.39 crore the year before, and held cash and equivalents of ₹686.71 crore at year-end, with total borrowings of just ₹498.55 crore — all short-term. The balance-sheet headroom is ample.
| Financial year | Ather Energy turnover (₹ crore) |
|---|---|
| FY24 | 1,753.8 |
| FY25 | 2,255.0 |
| FY26 | 3,671.76 |
The strategy: build VIDA, back Ather
Hero’s EV play runs on two tracks. The first is VIDA, its in-house electric scooter brand, which has been scaling rapidly. In the May 2026 earnings call, CEO Harshavardhan Chitale said VIDA’s scooter volumes expanded 2.5 times year-on-year in Q4 FY26, and the company was on the verge of doubling production capacity within a month, with a further doubling planned later in FY27 . VIDA’s market share reached 10.8% by Q3 FY26 and continued to climb .
The second track is strategic stakes in EV associates. Hero invested in Ather years ago and followed up with a ₹210 crore investment in Euler Motors (electric three-wheelers) in FY26, taking its stake there to nearly 37% . Chitale described these as “bold strategic moves” and framed EV as a core growth pillar alongside scooters, premium motorcycles, and exports .
CFO Vivek Anand outlined a three-part path to EV profitability: PLI benefits covering 60% of the VIDA portfolio (translating to roughly 13% of revenue), scaling volumes, and bill-of-materials cost reduction. He noted that “EBITDA losses per unit is actually coming down, right, in each quarter” . The EV business consumed ₹220 crore of investment in Q4 FY26, which trimmed Hero’s consolidated EBITDA margin by 30 basis points to 14.5% — still within the company’s stated 14–16% guidance band.
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