Back in 2018, Bengaluru-based startup Ather Energy launched an electric scooter in India dubbed the Ather 450. The offering got plenty of interest and the electric scooter sold quite well in southern cities like Chennai and Bengaluru.
Seeing electric is the future and two-wheelers in this segment are really picking up across the country the company has launched the second iteration to the 450 which is called the 450X.
The Ather 450X has been launched in India at Rs 1.49 lakh (Bengaluru ex-showroom). In this price segment, the Ather 450X is more expensive compared to other electric scooters like the Bajaj Chetak and even the TVS iQube.
The Ather 450X is even more expensive than an electric motorcycle like the Revolt 400.
The company has made incremental upgrades to the older version by introducing 4G LTE connectivity not to mention it now comes with a 2.9kWh battery pack which is bigger than the 2.4kWh battery on the Ather 450.
Also, Ather has added a kill switch to the side stand and a Warp Mode which gives the scooter that extra power to go from 0-40 kmph in just 3.3 seconds.
In terms of ergonomics, there isn’t much of a difference between the 450 and the 450X. It’s being offered in the same sporty design. The 450X comes with only three colour options – green, white and grey.
Since the scooter is coming to Delhi we got the opportunity to test it out on some of the most unforgiving roads in the country. As always, Delhi traffic was unforgiving but the Ather 450 managed to pass the test with flying colours. The suspension is a bit on the stiffer side but not a deal-breaker.
I was mostly riding the scooter in Sport mode which is all about power. Eco and Ride give you more range, but do not offer a lot of power which means you’ll have trouble moving off quickly. This can be a big problem in stop and go traffic.
The company is offering the electric scooter with two subscription packs, Plus and Pro, which offer different power, range, and value-added services. The Plus pack costs Rs 1,699 per month while the Pro pack costs Rs 2,000 monthly. The overall cost to buy the Ather 450X is Rs 1,49,000 which does not include monthly data charges and other incentives.
This is not an economical proposition by any means which makes us think about how it will survive in a market that’s becoming competitive with the likes of Bajaj and TVS also entering the electric two-wheeler segment, besides other brands like Hero Electric and Okinawa.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)