[TusharK]

Ather Energy has revealed its plan to introduce two new variants of the 450 e-scooter. These could be launched by the end of this year or in early-2023.



According to a media report, Ather Energy is working on a long-range version of the 450. It is expected to get a larger battery pack, however, this would require a significant redesign. It is said that top speed and performance would be similar to the 450X.

The second variant is expected to be more of a cosmetic refresh. The fourth variant in the 450 range will retain the current design but will get new colour options.

Ather's current line-up includes the 450 Plus and the 450X. The former uses a 7.2 BHP electric motor and has a maximum range of 70 km. The 450X packs an 8.04 BHP electric motor and can cover 85 km on a single charge.

Source: Bikewale

[DarthVeda]

Just bring back the original 450S and at that price point, and watch OLA sales go bust.

[AGupta]

The design is too radical for the majority of commuters. If Ather brings a new scooter with Activa like design then it may find many takers including me. A simple EV scooter with sorted ride and handling is enough for many, unfortunately, there is none in the market except for the Chinese imported ones.

[Samarth 619]

I sincerely believe they need a market carver, even if they coin a different brand name for it.
They need a 1.1L midranger with lower range and performance and without all this bells and whistles like rear brake, fancy console, app integration, etc. This might also bring relief to those who're not comfortable with digital surveillance, although it will happen, this way or that.

Your commuter range is like the bottom stones of a pyramid, they support the premium range. Premium products without commuter range is like a pyramid flying in air, it doesn't work for long.

Originally Posted by AGupta

The design is too radical for the majority of commuters. If Ather brings a new scooter with Activa like design then it may find many takers including me. A simple EV scooter with sorted ride and handling is enough for many, unfortunately, there is none in the market except for the Chinese imported ones.

I don't understand this philosophy. How is it radical for commuters and why is radical considered bad here, especially on a Rs. 1.6 Lakh premium scooter?
If someone wanted Activa like design, wouldn't they get Activa for lesser money anyways? Its not that Activa's exhaust is focused on rider's face that we must have EV's.
And everything is radical, when its exclusive. Let Athers increase..

[Bluengel180]

Originally Posted by Samarth 619

I don't understand this philosophy. How is it radical for commuters and why is radical considered bad here, especially on a Rs. 1.6 Lakh premium scooter?
If someone wanted Activa like design, wouldn't they get Activa for lesser money anyways? Its not that Activa's exhaust is focused on rider's face that we must have EV's.
And everything is radical, when its exclusive. Let Athers increase..

Personal preference.

It's why Activa has a sportier counterpart in the Dio and a mid way version in the Grazia. People have different preferences on design and it's the choice that sells the relevant scooters.

Also why would a person wanting to buy an EV buy an Activa?

In the electric market the belief is that every design should be futuristic and eye catching. While there is a market for those if a company sticks to it then it's ignoring the demographic that likes those vehicles to be subtle.

Ather is doing good as a company. It's time to give that choice to the consumer. I'm sure it will have many takers.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by DarthVeda

Just bring back the original 450S and at that price point, and watch OLA sales go bust.

Ather was losing a lot of money for each Ather 450 scooter sold as revealed by CEO himself. The necessary price increase was the sole reason for the launch of 450x in place of 450. The improvements between 450 and 450x are minuscule in terms of specs. Even after the launch of 450x at a much higher price, they are struggling financially because of higher fixed costs and very low volumes. They also changed their strategy from their own experience centers to third-party dealerships due to this. They were saved by an increase in Fame subsidy (Rs 5,000 per kWh battery capacity resulting in Rs 14,500 for 450x extra subsidy) from July 2021, rapidly increasing petrol prices, and extra subsidies by states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, etc... All this is not enough apparently as they increased prices by Rs 5,500 in January 2022. I am not sure if that is enough as the battery prices increased rapidly over the last few months.

There are only 2 companies (Ather and Ola) that are actually spending money on R&D and production capacities for electric 2-wheelers in India. Other startups like Ultraviolette, Tork, etc... are niche and either yet to release a product or just starting.

Ather has diluted too much share in the company's early fundraising rounds. I am not sure if they can sell scooters at lower prices anytime soon with constraints like higher fixed costs, increasing battery prices, and expanding production capacities. They have already diluted a lot of company shares for raising money. Hero Motocorp, Sachin Bansal, and Tiger Global ownership is higher than founders as per Entrackr. Ather is also spending a lot of money on marketing (costly IPL ads, Gujarat Titans sponsorships, etc...). In FY21, Ather spent Rs 32 crores on marketing alone while their total revenue was just Rs 80 crores.

Operating at scale is a must for the Indian 2-wheeler market to achieve profitability. That is the reason why Ola aiming for higher volumes from the get-go. Higher volumes will reduce the battery and other part prices substantially compared to the volumes of 2 to 3K per month. Due to Ola's previous reputation, they are able to raise much higher amounts for relatively lower dilution of the shares. Ola is not doing any expensive marketing through TV or Print media.

I believe the demand for electric 2-wheelers in India is equal to the entire petrol 2-wheeler market. One company releasing a cheaper product does not suddenly cause the competitor's sales to go bust. Especially when Ather's supply chain management is bad despite being in the market for almost 4 years. But it will bring much needed competition and increase the options for customers.

[Red Liner]

I fail to understand why Ather is unable to launch a budget scooter? They already seem to have understood the market in general, probably tied up their R&D and a bunch of other things. People seem to trust their scooter and the brand too (which in the current scenario is THE most difficult thing to achieve).

What stops them from launching a scooter in the 75k-100k range and really ramp the volumes up? There seems to be a definitive market, but trying to ape Tesla's premium strategy in India seems foolish beyond a point. Good for a start, not forever.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I fail to understand why Ather is unable to launch a budget scooter?

That question was on my mind too, but I think these points make sense:

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Even after the launch of 450x at a much higher price, they are struggling financially because of higher fixed costs and very low volumes.

Operating at scale is a must for the Indian 2-wheeler market to achieve profitability.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by am1m

That question was on my mind too, but I think these points make sense:

But then its a catch 22 situation. They need to capitalise on all the bad press that Ola's budget scooter is getting and launch their own product. Everyone I know who has bought an Ather is extremely happy with it.

Even my mechanic friend - an ex Honda Raid De Himalaya support lead and who has serviced all my motorbikes!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

But then its a catch 22 situation. They need to capitalise on all the bad press that Ola's budget scooter is getting and launch their own product.

Agreed, but how can they ramp up production capacity that quickly?

What is more frustrating than Ather's strategy IMHO, is the big guys like Bajaj not really doing much to push and support their EV products. The established players are either waiting or just doing lip service to their EV products- importing cheap kits and re-branding.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by am1m

Agreed, but how can they ramp up production capacity that quickly?

What is more frustrating than Ather's strategy IMHO, is the big guys like Bajaj not really doing much to push and support their EV products. The established players are either waiting or just doing lip service to their EV products- importing cheap kits and re-branding.

Well, if we answer all these existential questions they better hire the both of us for a good annual package

Or maybe they're waiting for all the mass market EV players to literally and figuratively burn themselves down

[Ketan T]

Interesting podcast by Ather on the production challenges at Ather.

https://forum.atherenergy.com/t/decl...u=thakur.ketan

https://youtu.be/m1eJw3SRC4A

[karthis91]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Ather was losing a lot of money for each Ather 450 scooter sold as revealed by CEO himself. The necessary price increase was the sole reason for the launch of 450x in place of 450. The improvements between 450 and 450x are minuscule in terms of specs. Even after the launch of 450x at a much higher price, they are struggling financially because of higher fixed costs and very low volumes.

There is always a question on high volumes, lower prices or being a niche product. If Ather wants to decrease the fixed costs, higher volumes are necessary. This is the classic 'Economies of Scale' principle of finding the right volume for an economic price. Rather than selling 100 scooters at 1.5L, wouldn't they be happy selling 1000 scooters at 1L?

As some others have pointed out, I guess the underlying production issues might be the cause of low volumes, which in turn has made the management stick to Niche product. Build the brand, maintain quality and when conditions turn favorable, go and hit the mass market?

[Sudarshan42]

Saw this in today's Economic Times- wonder if that applies to these variants too.



Hope there are nuances to this rule, since relatively more reliable platforms like Ather's 450 and TVS' iQube needn't suffer because of Ola's mad rush to production.

[AVIS]

I hope they work on a variant that's less noisy! Their scooters make an annoying whine, and are the loudest amongst all EVs. Just imagine the din if a gaggle of these were to accelerate at a traffic light. Even Honda CB Shine with an IC engine might be less noisy!