Ather 450 Becomes More Affordable!

The all-electric scooter has received a price cut of Rs 5,000; retails for Rs 1.28 lakh (on-road Bengaluru)

• The Ather 450 is now FAME-II approved.
• This makes it eligible for a subsidy of Rs 27,000.
• The electric scooter will be available in 30 major cities by 2023.

Ather Energy’s flagship scooter, the Ather 450, has received a price cut of almost Rs 5,000! It’ll now be sold at Rs 1.23 lakh (on-road Bengaluru) instead of its earlier price tag of Rs 1.28 lakh. How? Well, the Bengaluru-based startup recently announced that the scooter has been approved for FAME-II, making it eligible to receive a subsidy of Rs 27,000. The Ather 340 though misses out on the approval, as it comparatively has a lower range than the Ather 450. In case you’re wondering what FAME-II is and how it affects the future of EVs in India, head here: Fame-II Boosts Government Plans For Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure

Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? However, there’s a catch. You can only buy the scooter in Bengaluru for now. However, Ather has stated that it plans to begin operations in 30 major cities in the next four years (2023), starting with Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. The electric two-wheeler startup has already commenced work on setting up its charging network called the Ather Grid in the capital of Tamil Nadu.

We for one can’t wait till Ather’s scooters are available nationwide. The Ather 450 is one of the most feature-packed electric scooters available in the country. In fact, it comes with features that are not even offered as an option on most modern-day bikes. This includes a 7-inch touchscreen, GPS navigation, vehicle diagnostics, a reverse gear, OTA updates, and more. 

More on that here - Ather 450 Electric Scooter: First Ride Review

We’ll soon put the Ather 450 through a proper test to find out how it compares against conventional petrol-powered scooters. Until then, here's a brief analysis of how it fares in terms of running costs against the highest selling scooter in India, the Honda Activa 5G - Ather 340 vs Honda Activa 5G DLX: Running Cost Analysis