The new Ather 450X will continue to rival premium electric scooters like Ola S1 Pro, Simple One and TVS iQube
A lot of action has taken place in the electric two-wheeler segment in India which saw the introduction of many new players in recent months. With more new models slated to make an entry in the near future, it becomes imperative for existing players to stay relevant in this ultra-competitive environment.
Ather Energy is one of the market leaders in the electric two-wheeler space in India today. It was recently reported that the Bengaluru-based EV startup is developing a facelift for its best-selling model 450X. A type approval document filed by Ather Energy was leaked a few days ago.
New Ather Electric Scooter Launch Date
On their official Twitter, Ather Energy revealed the launch date of the new 450X. Ather has announced that the new Gen 3 450X electric scooter will be launched on 19th July. The way they have made the announcement, it is likely that the current version of 450X will be discontinued.
Further, the new 450X is likely to be priced about Rs 6k more than the current model in ex-sh prices. The biggest update in the upcoming iteration of Ather 450X is a larger 3.66kW Lithium-ion battery pack in place of the existing 2.6kWh unit. The updated 450X will be available in two settings.
In the first setting, 450X gets five riding modes including Warp Mode, Sport Mode, Ride Mode, Eco Mode and the new Smart Eco Mode. The second setting, which seems to be a variant with some reduced battery capacity, gets four riding modes with no Warp mode on offer. In all probability, the second setting will be locked and only available to owners at some special requests.
The larger battery pack will result in an increase in peak power output as well as a single-charge range. Peak power output for the new Ather 450X will be rated at 6.4kW whereas nominal power output will measure 3.1kW for the most aggressive Warp mode. Peak and nominal power outputs will vary according to the ride mode the user chooses.
As far as range is concerned, the larger battery pack has resulted in a maximum range of 146km on a single charge for setting 1. For setting 2, the range strangely drops to 108km for a single charge. Both these figures are ARAI-rated and real-world range will expectedly differ from these figures.
Updates in Equipment
Ather will also make some tweaks to the e-scooter’s equipment as well. Currently, Ather 450X is loaded with features like full-LED lighting, a 4.2-inch touchscreen instrument cluster, Bluetooth connectivity, integrated 4G LTE SIM connectivity, Over the air (OTA) updates, onboard navigation, digital document storage, music & call controls, reverse mode, etc.
However, sources tell Rushlane that features like OTA updates, navigation, User Interface (UI) improvements, smartphone integration to instrument console and on-road access to customer support which were offered free until now, will be offered as subscription services. From 1 January 2023, a user has to pay Rs 2,400 annually to avail the services mentioned above. All customers who are currently awaiting delivery of Ather 450X electric scooter, have the option to update their booking to the upcoming new gen 450X electric scooter.
