Chennai Gets Charged Up With Ather e-Scooters

 Electric mobility is spreading fast, and the latest manifestation of this is the first batch of Ather Energy’s 450 e-scooter being delivered to customers in Chennai. The Bengaluru-based manufacturer will be delivering nearly 100 scooters this week. The company will also be providing these customers with the Ather Dot home charging system for their vehicles. Meanwhile, 10 fast-charging stations have been installed across the city to alleviate range anxiety. .

The brand is offering free charging at all these stations until December this year in order to help build its brand value. Pre-orders for the 450 were opened in July this year, and the scooter is already sold out till the end of December. If you are still keen on buying one, Ather has opened bookings for the third batch of the scooter, which is slated to be delivered between February and March next year.

Powering the 450 is a 5.4kW electric motor that propels it to a top speed of 80kmph, while its 2.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack gives it an ARAI-certified range of 107km. Priced at Rs 1.22 lakh (on-road Chennai), the 450 is about one and a half times as expensive as many petrol-powered scooters on sale currently, but the reasonably strong demand shows that awareness of EVs is growing amongst Indian commuters.

Ather’s success could soon come under threat, however, with Bajaj expected to launch its new Chetak e-scooter towards the end of this year. With features and figures comparable to the 450 and an expected price tag in the range of Rs 1 lakh, ‘Hamara Bajaj’ should provide some stiff competition for the Bengaluru start-up.