Electric scooters are gaining quite a lot of popularity in India, thanks to their efficiency, practicality, and affordability. India has been a breeding ground for lots of innovations in the world of personal mobility, and Ather Energy is a name that’s taken center stage on multiple occasions. Up until now, Ather has sold only the 450X electric scooter in India. That’s about to change.
According to recent teasers posted on Ather Energy’s social media accounts, the brand is gearing up to launch new models on Friday, August 11, 2023. While the brand makes these announcements in a joking manner, digging into the teasers reveal quite a few interesting details about what the company has in store. For instance, one of the guys in the teaser video mentions improved power, torque, and range, so chances are one of the new models will be an upgraded version, perhaps a more performance-focused update, of the 450X.
The teaser also reveals that Ather plans to release three new models. What we do know is that one of these models is almost certainly going to be the 450S. It’s meant to be the most affordable model in Ather’s lineup, competing with electric scooters from the likes of TVS and Ola Electric. For reference, it’s substantially cheaper than the 450X which retails for Rs 144,852. With an Rs 129,999 price tag, the 450S makes owning a premium electric scooter much easier for a wider selection of Indian commuters.
Diving into more details of the 450S, it’s been announced as a more barebones version of the 450X, with a simpler LCD instrument panel and more basic features. As such, we can expect fancy features like Google Maps and smartphone connectivity to be taken out of the equation. From a performance perspective, however, it has the same claimed top speed of 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour), so chances are it’ll be powered by the same 6.4-kilowatt (8.5-horsepower) PMSM electric motor.
As for the other scooters slated for launch, Ather Energy shrouds them in mystery while occasionally throwing jokes about what these scooters will offer. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the Indian startup has big plans for India’s electric mobility sector, and we’ll have to wait until Friday, August 11, 2023 to get all the details.
