Ather Energy has commenced deliveries of the Ather 450 electric scooter in Chennai. Around 100 e-scooters will be delivered to customers this week along with the new compact home charger called Ather Dot.

In Chennai, pre-orders for the Ather 450 opened in July 2019. The company has bookings till December 2019 and those who book now can only get their e-scooter delivered in February-March 2020.

The Ather 450 is powered by a Brushless DC electric motor (BLDC) with an output of 7.2 BHP and 20.5 Nm. It comes with a 2.4 kWh lithium-ion battery that is claimed to offer of maximum range of 107 km on single charge.

Ather Energy has discontinued the entry level 340 variant of its electric scooter.

Ather Energy has confirmed on social media that the Ather 340 has been discontinued. The company claims that 99% of its customers prefer the Ather 450 and has said that they will focus on scaling up production of this variant.

The Ather 340 used a Brushless DC electric motor (BLDC) with a peak output of 6 BHP and 20 Nm. The scooter is claimed to accelerate from 0-40 km/h in 5.1 seconds. It came with a 1.92 kWh battery pack and offered a maximum range of 86 km on a single charge.

Source: Ather Energy / Twitter

The government of India has reduced the GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5%. As a result, the prices of Ather electric scooter have dropped. The price of the Ather 450 has reduced by Rs. 9,000.

In Bangalore, the Ather 340 and 450 are priced at Rs. 1,02,460 and Rs. 1,13,715 (on-road) respectively. This includes FAME II subsidy of Rs. 23,959 and Rs. 26,732 respectively.

After the reduction in GST rate, in Chennai, the Ather 340 and 450 cost Rs. 1,10,443 and Rs. 1,22,224 (on-road) respectively. These prices include the aforementioned FAME II subsidy.

At the moment, Ather e-scooters are only available in Bangalore and Chennai. The company plans to introduce these in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and 30 other cities by 2023.

Ather Energy has launched its electric scooter range in Chennai. The on-road price of the Ather 340 and 450 is Rs. 1,19,091 and Rs. 1,31,683 respectively. The prices include 2 helmets, FAME 2 subsidy, insurance, road tax, GST and other fees.

The Ather 340 and 450 are powered by a Brushless DC electric motor (BLDC). The 340 has a peak output of 6 BHP and 20 Nm of torque, while the 450 has 7.2 BHP and 20.5 Nm of torque. 

The 450 uses a 2.4 kWh lithium-ion battery, while the 340 comes with 1.92 kWh battery pack. The maximum range of the 450 and 340 is 107 km and 86 km respectively - as tested by the ARAI. The claimed 0-40 km/h acceleration times for the Ather 340 and 450 are 5.1 seconds and 3.9 seconds respectively. 

Ather had started installing its Ather Grid fast charging points in Chennai in May 2019 and 10 are already operational. 40-50 more charging points will be setup in the coming months. These will be located at malls, offices, cafes, restaurants and grocery stores.

Ather Grid locations in Chennai:

Bikes and Burgers -Kolathur

Coco Jaunt 1728 - Anna Nagar

Soul Garden Bistro - Kilpauk

Forum Vijaya Mall - Vadapalani

AtWorks - Guindy

East Coast at Madras Square - Neelankarai

SunnyBee - Alwarpet

Ampa SkyWalk mall - Aminjikarai

Naturals - South Boag Road

Kriyates - Thoraipakkam

Ather Grid will provide free charging for all 4-wheelers and 2-wheelers till December 2019. Ather Energy will be opening its Ather Space showroom at Wallance Garden, Nungambakkam on July 24, 2019. 

According to a media report, Ather Energy is likely to launch an affordable electric scooter that could compete with 125cc-engined scooters, in terms of their price.

Ather is reportedly working on a mass-market scooter, which is expected to get components made from cheaper materials like steel and cast-iron instead of aluminium. It could also get a more simpler digital instrument cluster. It is said that Ather might not reduce the performance or the battery capacity.

At present, Ather has two models in its line up including the Ather 340 and Ather 450 priced at Rs. 1.10 lakh and Rs. 1.23 lakh respectively. The company aims to sell 1 lakh units by June 2021. A more affordable, high volume product would be required to achieve this target.

Source: Autocar India

Ather Energy has raised US$ 51 million in the latest round of funding. Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested US$ 32 million in the start-up. He had invested US$ 0.5 million in 2014. Hero MotoCorp has invested US$ 19 million in the latest round along with InnoVen Capital that has put in another US$ 8 million.

At present, Ather Energy sells its electric scooters in Bangalore and Chennai. The company plans to expand to 30 cities by the end of 2023. It expects demand to grow in the near future and is therefore planning to set up a new manufacturing unit with an annual production capacity of 1 million units.

Ather Energy is also planning to expand its public charging network called Ather Grid to 6,500 points across India in the next 5 years. The company plans to invest Rs. 130 crore in this project. At present, Bangalore and Chennai have 31 and 7 fast charging points each.

Ather Energy is setting up its fast charging network called Ather Grid in Chennai. The company plans to install 50-55 Ather Grid points across the city by the end of this year.

Ather Grid can be used by all electric 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers. The charging facility will be offered for free till the end of this year.

Ather Energy has partnered with cafes, restaurants, tech parks, malls and gyms to install charging points. The company has already installed seven fast charging points in Chennai. These are located at Forum Vijaya mall, AtWorks and Bikes and Burgers among other restaurants.

Electric vehicle owners will be able to locate and check availability of the nearest charging stations in real-time using the Ather Grid app.

Chennai is the second city after Bangalore to get the Ather Grid fast charging network. The company plans to set up 6,500 charging points across the country by 2022.

After launching its electric scooters in Bangalore, Ather Energy will offer its products in Chennai from June 2019. Customers can now place pre-orders on the company's website.

Ather Energy will be introducing both the 450 and the 340 e-scooters in Chennai. The company will be setting up Ather Grid - public charging infrastructure at places like cafes, malls, tech-parks, gyms in the city. For the first 6 months, all EV users will be able to use Ather Points to charge their vehicles for free.

According to the company, the Ather 450 e-scooter is sold out in Bangalore till September 2019. There are 31 charging points at 24 locations in the city.

The Ather 340 and the Ather 450 are powered by a Brushless DC electric motor (BLDC). The Ather 340 has an output of 6 BHP and 20 Nm and comes with a 1.92 kWh lithium-ion battery, while the 450 variant makes 7.2 BHP and 20.5 Nm of torque. It gets a 2.4 kWh lithium-ion battery. The claimed maximum range of the two scooters is 86 km and 107 km respectively.

With 47% of the poll and 512 votes, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 and Interceptor INT 650 have won Team-BHP's first ever '2-Wheeled Ride of the Year' award. 

The 650 Twins were among the most anticipated products this year. Their desirability is certainly high and are considered as the most affordable twin-cylinder bikes in the market. It is believed that the 650 Twins would also bring new customers to the brand. In terms of looks, the 650 Twins' retro-modern looks are in-tune with the brand's philosophy. While initial reports about the engine, gearbox and vibrations are positive, long term reliability is still unknown.

The Jawa and Jawa forty two finished in second place, receiving 15% of the votes. Similar to the 650 Twins, there was a lot of excitement in the market for the reincarnated Jawa brand. The classic looks of the bikes are paired with the engine from the Mojo. In terms of pricing, the Jawas seem more appealing compared to Royal Enfield's 350cc models. 

The TVS NTorq and Ather S350 and S450 electric scooters received 10% and 9% of the votes respectively.

Along with the Ather One subscription plan which was announced at the launch of the Ather 340 & 450 electric scooters, the company has now introduced three new subscription plans for customers.

The base plan is called Ather Connect. It costs Rs. 3,000 + GST per year and offers over-the-air updates, remote diagnostics, ride recommendations and on-board navigation. Ather Service costs Rs. 6,000 + GST per year and offers vehicle service, roadside assistance in addition to Ather Connect services. Ather Charge is a charging focused plan that offers home charging and unlimited public charging at AtherGrid points. It also costs Rs. 6,000 + GST per year.

Ather One will remain the flagship plan with an annual cost of Rs. 8,400 + GST. All expenses including maintenance costs are covered under this plan. Subscribers get all the benefits of Ather Connect, home charging and public fast charging as well as vehicle service and roadside assistance.

Ather One is available to existing customers during the first year of ownership for free. Upon completion of the first year, customers can choose from the aforementioned plans. This offer has been discontinued from October 31, 2018 and those planning to pre-order will get the Ather Service plan for free for a limited period. Further, public charging at AtherGrid will remain free till December 31, 2019 for all Ather customers.