After Bengaluru and Chennai, Ather Energy has commenced its process of installing the Ather Grid charging infrastructure in New Delhi. The first charging station in New Delhi was installed at Connaught Place. Ather Energy has tied up with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd in New Delhi to set up the charging stations.
Also Read: Ather 450X vs Chetak Electric vs TVS iQube - Latest electric scooters compared
Ather Grid offers fast charging capabilities. Apart from the access to the Ather Grid, the electric scooter also gets AtherDot home charger that can be installed at apartments, bungalows and shared parking spaces. A portable charger that uses a standard 5V plug point is also available with the vehicle.
Ather Energy also plans to expand its production capacity, and the company is also busy installing a new manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The Bengaluru-based two-wheeler brand has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tamil Nadu government to build a 4,00,000 sq. ft. factory.
The new facility in Hosur will start operations in 2020, and it will have an initial installed capacity of 1,00,000 units. The production at the new facility will be ramped up in a phased manner depending on the demand. Currently, Ather Energy’s existing plant in Bengaluru has a capacity of 20,000-25,000 units. Regular readers would know that Ather Energy plans to expand its reach to 24 cities by the end of the FY2022 (31 March 2022).
In other updates, Ather Energy expanded its product portfolio with the launch of the new 450X. The new 450X joins the standard 450 in the company’s portfolio. The latter, however, will be reportedly discontinued very soon. With the launch of the more affordable and performance-spec 450X, the demand for the standard 450 is likely to fall. The Ather 450 will not be the first model that the company will discontinue. The company axed its lower-spec model, the Ather 340, in September last year due to low demand.
Also Read: EeVe to unveil electric sports bike and retro scooter at Auto Expo 2020
To give you a recap, the new Ather 450X retails at an on-road price tag of INR 99,000. The new product from the brand uses an electric motor that produces 6 kW of max power and 26 Nm of torque. A 2.9 kWh lithium-ion battery pack fuels the electric motor. Apart from a slightly bigger battery and more power and torque output than the standard 450, the new 450X also benefits from additional Warp mode that delivers better acceleration.
