Ather Energy Introduces Ather 450X, the Super Scooter-Quicker, Smarter, Better

by Shrutee K/DNS

New Delhi, India, 28^th January 2020:  Ather Energy unveiled an advanced performance and intelligent electric scooter, Ather 450X. The super scooter comes packed with brand new features, advanced 4G connectivity and a brand new ownership model, at INR 99,000 (Bengaluru) up front and a monthly subscription.

Ather recently signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to build a new 400,000 sq ft facility and is now moving to the next phase of its growth. Ather is scaling up its operations across the country with Ather 450X being available across 10 major cities in India beginning with Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad along with Bengaluru and Chennai.

Ather’s exclusive invite campaign saw thousands of pre-orders coming in from more than 300 cities. Based on its success, Ather will be offering a referral program for customers so that they can share the benefits of pre-ordering the Ather 450X with their friends and family. With the demand pouring in for the super scooter, Ather will be rapidly expanding its operations to all key markets through retail partnerships which will offer test rides and after sales service across India. Like Chennai & Bengaluru, Ather will equip other key markets with multiple fast charging Ather Grid points and Ather experience centres, prior to the deliveries planned in Q3 of 2020. To ease the public charging experience, Ather Grid will be available in locations like malls, cafes, supermarkets and tech parks.

The super scooter is a significant step-up from Ather 450 with improvements across multiple key parameters. Ather 450X is the outcome of an award winning design philosophy and is quicker, more intelligent than its predecessor and comes in three new colours; Grey, Green and White. The scooter is powered with a 6kW PMSM motor, a new 2.9 kWh lithium ion battery and comes with 4 riding modes. In addition to Eco, Ride and Sport, Ather is introducing a new high performance mode, 'Warp'. Ather 450X can go from 0 to 40 kmph in just 3.3 sec in the Warp mode, making it the quickest electric scooter in its category and the perfect choice to navigate through city traffic.

The revolutionary improvement in its battery has enabled a projected Indian Drive Cycle (IDC) range of 116 km and a real life range of 85 km in city conditions. Ather 450X will also charge 50% faster than before at 1.5km per minute, making it the fastest charging rate in the electric two-wheeler category.

Ather 450X will have a 4G SIM card and Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing riders to manage phone calls and music on the touchscreen dashboard. The new 7” touchscreen dashboard, comes with a color depth of 16M and a Snapdragon Quad Core processor. Ather 450X utilises Android Open Source to offer map navigation, On-board diagnostics and other unique features like Over-the-air updates, Auto Indicator off and Guide-me-home lights. The Ather mobile app will continue to offer personalised ride statistics, charging status, push navigation and more functionalities like theft & tow detection, live location & vehicle state tracking, voice assistant and welcome lights. Ather 450X will support connected accessories like smart helmets and tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

Quote by Tarun Mehta, CEO and co-founder, Ather Energy: With Ather 450, we wanted to build a vehicle that breaks the mould of what an EV can do in India. Over the last year and a half, the scooters on the road have provided tremendous data and our online community is active with thousands of members. With over 6 million KM of on-road data from our existing riders and the invaluable feedback from our community, we have built Ather 450X which raises the bar on almost every key metric.

With Ather 450X we have changed the ownership model and reduced the upfront payout for the scooter while also reducing the battery replacement cost to virtually nothing. This has been a major impediment to EV adoption and our new monthly subscription packs address it.

With Ather 450X we are excited to be expanding across the country. This year we are opening 8 more cities and setting up retail partnerships across the country for the same. Our charging network, Ather Grid will also be expanding to all markets. This is an exciting new phase for all of us and for EVs in the country.

Ownership Model: Ather has redefined the ownership and purchase models for Ather 450X scooter. With another first in the country, Ather 450X will be offered with new innovative flexible varianting options in the form of performance packs. This will enable customers the flexibility to switch between performance packs as well as receive free battery replacement in the event of battery degradation, ensuring consistent performance throughout the registered life of the scooter.

The super scooter will be offered with two performance pack options: Pro & Plus that owners can switch between at their convenience. Each pack has been designed to offer a variety of smart and connected features and ride capabilities. Owners will no longer be limited by fixed variants and vehicle models.

With the new ownership model, the upfront cost of the Ather 450X will be INR 99,000 (ex-Bangalore) along with a monthly subscription of INR 1699 for the Plus and INR 1999 for the Pro.

In Delhi and Maharashtra, Ather 450X owners may also benefit from the EV subsidy offered by the states which is currently an additional amount of approximately INR 14500 and INR 5000, respectively.

About Ather: Ather Energy, India’s first intelligent electric vehicle manufacturer was founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta, and Swapnil Jain. Backed by founders of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal, Hero Motocorp and Tiger Global. Ather Energy launched India’s first truly intelligent electric scooter - Ather 450 in 2018, followed by their new flagship offering Ather 450X, the super scooter in 2020. Ather has also installed a comprehensive public charging network, Ather Grid, built and designed in India. With 38 charging Points in Bengaluru and 14 charging Points in Chennai, Ather Grid is the largest fast-charging network for electric vehicles in the country. The company’s product line has won 30 awards in design, automotive and technology categories. With over 51 patent applications, 113 trademarks and 123 design registrations to its name, Ather Energy aims to provide consumers with the best possible ownership experience. Ather Energy currently operates in Bengaluru and Chennai and in 2020 expands to Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and more cities.

Product Specifications

	Specification	Ather 450X
Performance	Peak Power	6KW
	Max Torque	26 Nm
	Top Speed	80 kmph
	Acceleration (0-40 kmph)	3.3 s
	Riding modes	Warp-Sport-Ride-Eco
	Range (Projected Indian Drive Cycle)	116 km
	TrueRange	85 km
Charging	Fast-charging Rate	1.5 km/min
Battery	Capacity	2.9 kWh
Colours		White
		Grey
		Green
Display and Touchscreen, Dashboard	Processor	Snapdragon Quad Core
	Operating System	Android Open Source OS (AOSP)
	Screen Size and Type	7-inch  Touchscreen LED
	Colour Depth	16 million
Smart Features	Connectivity	4G Wi-Fi 2.45G, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE 5.0
	Dashboard	Over the air updates Onboard Navigation Auto Indicator off Guide-me-home lights Connected Mobile App Side stand sensor
	App Based Smart Features	Ride Stats Push Navigation Live Location and Vehicle State Tracking Theft/Tow detection Music Control Call Control Welcome Lights Voice Assistant
	Smart Accessories Support	Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Smart Helmet

The Numbers stated above are indicative and subject to certification.