[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by payeng

Cool as long as EVs are rare on our roads and only a few visiting the changing stations. Imagine a "Queue" lined up for a charge.

Once the population of electric vehicles increase in the city, the infrastructure will be upgraded too. Look at HongKong, where Tesla has made substantial inroads. There's plenty of charging stations across the city state. Same will happen here, if the EV concept takes off.

[agbenny]

Ather has released a newsletter stating they would come up with Ather Energy charging stations called Ather Grid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOwGXo02aBU

Charging stations with universal adapters could be a big move next.

[TusharK]

Ather S340 electric scooter launch on June 5, 2018

Bangalore-based Ather Energy is set to launch its first electric scooter, the S340 in India on June 5, 2018.



The Ather S340 has dual-tone bodywork with LED lights and a touchscreen instrument cluster offering features like navigation, profile-based sign in, predictive analytics and ride statistics. Each scooter is connected to a cloud-based system, which can deliver over the air vehicle updates.

Powering the S340 is a 2.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which is IP67 water resistant. It has a claimed range of 60 km per charge and can be recharged to 80% of the total capacity in 1 hour using a fast charger. The battery is claimed to have a life of 50,000 km.

Ather claims that the S340 will accelerate from 0-40 km/h in 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 72 km/h. The S340 rides on telescopic front suspension and has a rear monoshock. Brakes come in the form of petal type discs at both ends.

Last month the company launched its electric charging network in Bangalore. These will be offered to EV owners free of cost for the next 6 months.

Link to Team-BHP News

[sreeharipv]

Yay.. finally a well thought out ground up product from India. Can't wait for the reviews to come out. Will get one as soon as its available in Hyderabad (although I don't need a scooter now!) if it lives up to the hype!

Here's to more EVs!

[payeng]

Am curious how much would one cost? Anyone knows the cost of buying one?

[The Great]

Originally Posted by payeng

Am curious how much would one cost? Anyone knows the cost of buying one?

1L approx expected price as per;

Bike Dekho

Zig Wheels

This might well be the Vespa of Electric scooters

[daretodream]

I got an email from Ather. I must admit that I'd subscribed to them from the day they went public with their idea.

Subject:Here’s your exclusive test-ride, before pre-orders start

Hello ********,

You have been with us all this while, following us closely, and more importantly, believing in the S340. Honestly, that has kept us going. Needless to say, it’s you who should be getting first right to the scooter when pre-orders open next week.

Yes, you read it right! Pre-orders are opening on 5th June '18. We are keeping our word - you will have access to the first batch of scooters getting delivered on priority. You might want to be a little selfish and keep this to yourself so that you get to pre-order before others do. Stay tuned for an email about pre-ordering on the 5th.

Today, we are opening up test rides just for you. You get an exclusive window of four days to schedule a test ride before we open it for the world on 5th June. So go ahead, reserve a convenient date and time. The test rides begin next week with the launch of AtherSpace - our first experience centre in Indiranagar, Bengaluru.

In case of any queries, get in touch by replying to this email or calling our team at 080 **** ****.

Leaving you with a video on S340's evolution from prototype to final vehicle. We think you'll like this.

Thanks,

Team Ather
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=5np0mo0VdGw

The Test Ride slots are booked for 5th-12th already!
I have just booked a test ride for 13th June.

[srishiva]

Nice video. Should they remove all the flashy touch screen, navigation etc out and maybe bring down the price so that more people could afford it ?
If the sale numbers are not high, others will not offer competitive products early enough is my guess. I hope they succeed and do really well.

[Nilesh5417]

Now launched - OD news here.

First off - its not 1 scooter but 2! I personnally didn't know the S450 plans existed.

Ather Energy has launched its Ather 340 and Ather 450 smart electric scooters in India. While the more powerful 450 has been priced at Rs 1.24 lakh on-road, the 340 is priced at Rs 1.09 lakh on-road. Both scooters are identical to each other in every way, the only difference being the lower power output of the 340.

Sticking to what the price includes - practically everything for running the scooter for an year! How inflation hits you later is a question though. Personally, i don't see this churning anywhere close to the Wego volumes let alone Activa. But its a very important launch and am really hoping (praying) it finds enough buyers for Ather to prosper.

Prices for both scooters are introductory and includes a 'home charging point' or dedicated charging station for the 450 along with standard installation and a charging cable as well. Pricing for the 340 does not include a home charging point. Pricing for both scooters includes a free 1 year subscription, which if purchased separately costs Rs 9,912 for a year or Rs 2,596 for a quarter. Called Ather One, the subscription ensures you do not have to pay for charging your scooter at all – irrespective of whether you charge it at home or through an 'Ather Grid' charging station at a public place. Effectively, Ather Energy will pay the host of the public charging station directly and reimburse you the amount spent on electricity for charging at home every three months.

The Ather One subscription plan also takes care of maintenance – Ather says effectively servicing and maintenance of the scooters is free as you won't need to pay labour charges or for consumables like brake pads and the like. Data services like navigation, diagnostics and updates are included in the subscription plan as well, along with roadside assistance.

And coming to performance:

Both scooters are powered by a BLDC (brushless direct current) motor that offers up to 5.4kW (7.3PS) of power in the 450 and up to 4.4kW (5.9PS) in the 340. Peak torque offered by the 450 is 20.5Nm while the 340 offers up to 20Nm – the torque outputs for both scooters are thus higher than 200cc entry-level performance motorcycles like the KTM 200 Duke and Bajaj Pulsar 220, which is impressive. This translates to serious acceleration and the claimed 0-40kmph time for the 450 is a mere 3.9 seconds, says Ather Energy.

Given that the torque is available instantaneously, this must be a hoot to ride - especially the S450. Can't wait for a long term review in 6-months time.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Review from Motorbeam -

https://youtu.be/Exs4bSGumLM

ACI Review -

https://youtu.be/O7AqcRNOefQ

[srishiva]

Impressive. They have designed everything from chassis, use of aluminium, touch screen with features and clean looks without compromise. Range on the lower one should have been little over 100 kms. My drive to office is almost at the limit. With chargers in office, it should not be problem though. Hope they succeed well !

Are we getting an exhaustive review here ? Its needed.

[am1m]

Man, that's one impressive launch!

I'm convinced my next commuter bike is going to be electric. Hope these guys are still around when the time comes.

Forget the argument about whether e-bikes are really 'clean' overall or not, considering that most of our electricity is still generated by polluting coal-fired plants, if these e-bikes (and eventually cars) can eliminate exhaust emissions in our cities, that's still a big positive step for our personal health. Not to mention the lower overall noise generated by these vehicles.

What sort of maintenance will these e-bikes need? Hopefully we won't have to go to service centers as often (or not at all? bye bye cheating crooks at the service center! ) as we'd have to in the case of an ICE-driven ride?

Only fear is will I forget how to ride an ICE-driven bike. Don't ever want to as the sexiest bikes are still on that engine! But perhaps that'll change too.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

More reviews coming out now -

C&B -

https://youtu.be/js5H9HF7crw

Overdrive -

https://youtu.be/dEZFE4BrjMI

Zigwheels -

https://youtu.be/T6tkF5QbImc

[theapollohelios]

Followed the launch event on Youtube, it's really amazing how they designed everything including the battery pack and the touchscreen from scratch and have thought of the little details like the reverse option or an LED boot-lamp.

If I was going to buy an scooter today in Bangalore, this would definitely be my choice.

The only thing I would like changed is the GSM connectivity for the dashboard. Would've been better if instead Android Auto was offered. Although I assume the iPhone users would be left out in terms of navigation.

[sri_tesla]

Its amazing how much these guys are able to achieve in just 4-5 years If there is any product that deserves govt's FAME subsidy, it is this. While initial price is higher than comparable 125cc scooter, you can easily recover that amount within 2-3 years at worst.

Comparison between Ather 450 and 125cc petrol scooters like Activa 125, Suzuki Access: Assuming daily usage of 40 KM:

Petrol 125 cc scooter: On-road price: Rs 75,000
Monthly usage = 1200 KM
Mileage = 45 KM (Being generous. Real world mileage is around 40 KM or even less in city traffic).
Total petrol per month = 26.66 liters
Total fuel cost per month = 26.66 * 80 = Rs 2,133
Fuel cost per year = 12 * 2133 = Rs 25,600

Ather 450: On-road price: Rs 125,000 (~ Rs 50,000 higher than petrol one)
Monthly usage = 1200 KM
Range = 75 KM per charge of 2.4 kWh battery => 2.4 units per 75 KM
Electricity Cost per month = 1200/75 = 16 * 2.4 = 38.4 units per month = ~ Rs 308 (assuming Rs 8 per unit).
Electricity cost per year = 12 x 308 = Rs 3696

There can be minimum Rs 20,000 in petrol savings per year with Ather 450 compared to petrol scooters.

Ather is providing one year free subscription for Ather one plan which takes care of electricity costs at Ather grid and at home also. It includes unlimited charging, periodic maintenance, roadside assistance etc... After one year It will be @ Rs 700 per month.