Ather Energy also plans to open four experience centers in Delhi-NCR region by December 2020
Ather 450X electric scooter, launched in India earlier this year is set to expand its reach to more cities across the country. Ather plans to launch their futuristic scooter multiple new cities this year. These are Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
In addition, they have plans to set up an Ather Grid charging network in multiple cities. Ather Energy is in talks with dealer partners to set up experience centers at the Delhi-NCR region. They are also working on setting up a new Experience Center in the Hyderabad Jubilee Hills region. Ather Experience centers are already operational in Bangalore and Chennai. These help customers to explore the world of Ather electric scooters, understand the technology behind and such things.
Speaking about launch timeline of Ather electric scooters in these new cities, their CEO, Tarun Mehta has revealed on Twitter that they plan to launch in Pune by November, and in Mumbai by December. Hyderabad will get the scooters next month. Test rides are scheduled to commence in a month, followed by deliveries in Oct/Nov.
With Covid-19 pandemic lockdown outlining weeks of non-activity, Ather launch plans have had to be reassessed accordingly, and as work resumes, Ather is back to reccce’ing venues to introduce its AtherGrid. Ather 450X will be ready for deliveries soon with fast chargers also being installed in these cities. For the most part, the company is looking at “Starting deliveries of the Ather 450X around November of this year.”
Other cities in pipeline are Ahmedabad, Surat, Coimbatore, Kolkata and Kochi. Ather is looking for venues to host AtherGrid fast chargers at cafes in Ahmedabad while launch in Surat is on track for an entry in 2021. Remaining cities in the list are also expected to get Ather scooters by first half of 2021.
Ather has signed a pan-India agreement with SangeethaMobile to facilitate Ather Grid charging network expansion. The agreement lets Ather use 650 Sangeetha outlets nation-wide to set up charging points are per requirement in an area.
Delhi EV Policy
Thanks to this, buyers stand to benefit financially from purchases such as Ather scooters. Ather CEO has stated that the cost of their electric scooter will be reduced by Rs 15,000 thanks to the new policy.
Ather 450X smart electric scooter was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 99,000 (ex-showroom). This includes cost of ownership along with battery leasing while buyers would also have to opt for two subscription plans. Buyers can also purchase the scooter at Rs.1.49 lakhs and Rs.1.59 lakhs for the Plus and Pro variants with added insurance and registration costs.
Ather 450X is powered by a 6 kW electric motor with a 2.9 kWh lithium ion battery pack which offers 26 Nm torque. It comes in with three riding models of Eco, Ride and Sport along with Warp mode and can accelerate from 0 to 40 km/h in 3.3 seconds and from 0 to 60 km/h in 6.5 seconds. Top speed is at 80 km/h. The battery can be charged upto 100 percent via a 5 amp switch in 5.45 hours. Ather 450X electric scooter competes with the Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube even as its competitors are more affordably priced.
