Breaking: Ather 450X Gets A LOT More Affordable

Ather has axed its lower-spec 450 Plus e-scooter and will now offer just one variant - 450X - at two different prices. How? Simple, by offering all the features you previously got as standard on the 450X as an optional extra now. All these features will be sold as 'Pro-pack'. Hence, if all you want is an Ather 450X and don't care much about ride modes, touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity and the like, you can have the 450X for Rs 30,000 cheaper. 

Price and Rivals:

The 450X without the Pro-pack and with it cost Rs 1,14,636 and Rs 1,45,000 (ex-showroom Bengaluru, including FAME II and charger) respectively. A fully loaded 450X is also now almost Rs 13k cheaper than before. 

The Pro-pack alone costs Rs 30,000 and can be added to your e-scooter at the time of booking. At this price point the Ather 450X without the Pro-pack will compete with the base variant of the TVS iQube (Rs 1,12,230 on-road) and mid-spec the Ola S1 (Rs 1,14,999 ex-showroom). 

Variants 

With the Ather 450 Plus variant relegated from the portfolio, there will be, in essence, just one e-scooter on offer - 450X. However, the Pro-pack will decide whether your 450X will be feature-rich or barebones. 

What's new on the 450X without the Pro-pack? 

There's nothing new but there's a lot less on offer. The only silver lining here is that even if you buy the 450X without the Pro-pack, you're still getting all of the 450X's hardware - same battery, same motor, and more importantly, same performance. That way, Ather ensures that the core characteristics of the Ather 450X isn’t compromised. What you will miss out on is stuff like fast charging, ride modes, TFT touchscreen, tyre pressure monitor, Google maps, Hill assist, park assist and five year battery warranty (only three years without the Pro-pack). Only visual change will be that instead of a colour screen you'll get a 7-inch greyscale display.

What should have changed?

We've seen other brands like Ola and even TVS reverse-engineer their top-spec e-scooters by removing certain features and using lower-capacity batteries and motors to make lower-spec variants of the iQube and S1 Pro. Ather has chosen not to trim the hardware but the software has taken a considerable hit in the name of cost cutting and we wish it hadn't gone all out. It should have offered the basics like fast charging  and one more ride mode at least. 

Zig says

Ather has always chosen to do things differently and is a keen listener of customer feedback. If this is a decision derived from what its customers want then it could be beneficial for its sales, and will be perfect for those who want a no-frills, yet performance-packed, sporty-looking electric scooter.