Ather Energy has announced reduced prices for its electric scooters. This decision comes in following a reduced GST rate on electric vehicles. These rates which was at 12 percent earlier has now been reduced to 5 percent and is applicable across all FAME II certified electric vehicles both in the two wheeler and four wheeler segments.
The new price for the Ather 340 now stands at Rs.1,02,460 in Bengaluru and at Rs.1,10,443 in Chennai. The Ather 450 is priced at Rs.1,13,715 in Bengaluru and Rs.1,22,224 for buyers in Chennai. This price is inclusive of road tax, smart card fee, RTO registration and insurance.
Ather 340 and Ather 450 are currently on sale exclusively in these two cities while plans are afoot to expand sales to other major cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Pune and 30 other cities by 2023.
To be approved under the FAME II scheme, electric two and four wheelers need to comply with certain conditions. They need to include 50 percent or more local parts, use lithium ion battery packs, command a top speed of 40 kmph and offer a riding range of 80 kms.
Ather 450 is powered by a 5.4 kW electric motor offering 7.4 bhp power and 20.5 Nm torque. The Ather 340 uses a smaller 4.4 kW electric motor with both scooters using a 2.71 kWh lithium ion battery pack. While the 450 offers a riding range of 75 kms and top speed of 80 kmph, its 340 counterpart offers a maximum of 60 kms and top speed of 70 kmph.
Charging of these scooters from 0 to 80 percent is achieved in 50 minutes via a public charger while this is possible in 2 hours and 40 minutes via a standard charger.
Both Ather 340 and 450 electric scooters are produced at the company facility in Bengaluru. This facility has annual capacity of 30,000 units while expansions of production capacities are in process. The company has confirmed that the first lot of electric scooters has already been booked while bookings open for the next lots of scooters. Deliveries will commence from September 2019 for the first lot while deliveries for the second lot will be completed by the end of this year.
