The first deliveries were made today and the coming week will see 100 scooters being delivered to Chennai consumers, along with the new compact home charger, Ather Dot.
19 Oct 2019 | 8442 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Thirteen months after Ather Energy began deliveries of its flagship electric scooter the Ather 450 in Bangalore, the EV start-up has begun deliveries in Chennai. The first deliveries were made today and the coming week will see 100 scooters being delivered to Chennai consumers, along with the new compact ...
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Thirteen months after Ather Energy began deliveries of its flagship electric scooter the Ather 450 in Bangalore, the EV start-up has begun deliveries in Chennai. The first deliveries were made today and the coming week will see 100 scooters being delivered to Chennai consumers, along with the new compact home charger, Ather Dot. Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO handed over the keys to the enthusiastic owners at Ather Space, Chennai.
Ather Energy has been investing in setting up a fast charging EV infrastructure in Bangalore and Chennai. Currently, Chennai has 10 fast charging points with plans for more in the coming months. The company recently signed an MoU with the Chai Kings to add charging points to their 30 outlets across Chennai. The first couple of Ather Grid Points are at Chai King outlets at Porur and Ekkattuthangal.
With the multiple fast public chargers set up by Ather, owners of the Ather 450 will have charging available both at home and free charging across the city until December 2019. Chennai EV owners can find charging points across the city, from Bikes & Burgers in Kolathur, to Forum Vijaya Mall, Vadapalani all the way to East Coast at Madras Square on ECR.
Ather Energy had opened pre-orders in early July 2019 for Chennai. The company says pre-orders till December are full. Orders for Batch 3 are now open and potential e-scooter owners can get their Ather 450 in the February to March 2020 period. Orders can be placed through the company website and at Ather Space. Many customers are also leasing Ather 450 instead of outright purchase, a model introduced by Ather, the only B2C and two-wheeler company to do so in India. After Chennai, Ather is now gearing up to launch in Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai.
According to Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy, "Chennai has been very welcoming. The response for the consumers at the time of launch blew us away and we are looking forward to establishing ourselves in the city and servicing the strong demand for the Ather 450 in the coming months."
Ather 450 has a top speed of 80kph, a range of 75km and 0-40kph in 3.9 seconds. It also comes with parking assist, which allows riders to reverse into tight parking spots.
Ather 450: a city runabout
The recent slashing of GST on electric vehicles from 12 to five percent, the lowest GST slab, saw Ather Energy reduce prices. The Ather 450 now costs Rs 9,000 less at Rs 113,000 in Bangalore and Rs 122,000 in Chennai. The 340, meanwhile, now costs Rs 102,000 in Bangalore and Rs 110,000 in Chennai. Essentially, on-road prices have reduced by about Rs 8,000-9,000.
The Ather 450, which is designed for city riding conditions, has a top speed of 80kph, a range of 75km and one of the quickest accelerations of 3.9 seconds from 0-40kph in the scooter category. Also, the Ather 450 comes with parking assist, which allows riders to reverse into tight parking spots.
The key differentiator of the Ather 450 is its intelligent features, seamless charging and ownership experience. The Ather 450 has a 7-inch touchscreen dashboard that allows onboard navigation with options of alternative routes and saved locations. It comes with the Ather app that enables push navigation from the phone to the vehicle dashboard, remote monitoring of the vehicle’s health and charge status. Also, with the over-the-air (OTA) updates functionality, the vehicle can improve over time with continuous upgrades in addition to new features and functionalities.
Also read: Bajaj Auto reveals its first EV – the electric Chetak scooter – ahead of launch in January 2020
