Bengaluru-based electric mobility start-up Ather Energy recently completed two years of operations in India. Founded in 2013, the company kick-started operations in 2018 with the launch of the Ather 450 electric scooter and has since expanded operations in Chennai, while also introducing the new flagship offering - Ather 450X - earlier this year. The company also offered six over-the-air (OTA) updates to the 450 since its launch with the model covering about 11 million kilometres across the fleet. Now, announcing its next step forward, Ather has said that will continue its network expansion to eight new cities this year, while also announcing a new vehicle exchange program for petrol scooter owners who would like to upgrade to an electric scooter.
Also Read: Ather 450X: Variants, Specifications & Pricing Explained
The Ather 450 has received 6 OTA updates since launch bringing improved performance and new ride modes
Ather Energy announced that the company is now planning to come up with a vehicle exchange program to attract scooter owners to upgrade to a better electric vehicle. There are other ownership models that the company is piloting, which will be rolled out over the next few months. The manufacturer though is yet to reveal the modalities of the scheme.
Speaking about the ongoing lockdown and future plans for the start-up, Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy said, "The lockdown helped us reevaluate and reassess our long term goals. We are going to open as many avenues as possible to promote electric vehicles. From introducing new ownership models and to continue offering the most varied financing options, we will ensure that owning an E2W [electric 2wheeler] is a hassle-free proposition for any consumer. Exciting times ahead for Ather and the EV industry"
Also Read: Ather 450X First Ride Review
Ather now sells the standard 450, 450 Plus and 450X scooters with different power output
Ather currently marks its presence in two cities pan India and only down South. The next phase will see the company expand operations with experience centres coming up in Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Coimbatore. The cities of Mumbai, Pune and Delhi will also join the line-up. the electric two-wheeler maker had previously announced. In addition, the company is also setting up a larger manufacturing facility spread across 400,000 sq.ft. in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, just outside of Bengaluru that is scheduled to open later this year.
