Ather S340 Bookings To Open By June

Looking for an electric scooter? Consider the Ather S340, whose production has finally gotten underway.

The Ather S340, one of the highly anticipated electric scooters in India, is finally scheduled to launch this year. The bookings for the same will commence in June. Sales will be limited to Bengaluru initially, expanding to other parts of the country in the latter half of the ongoing year.

The electric two-wheeler startup Ather Energy has been backed by Hero MotoCorp with an investment of Rs 180 crore. The startup’s idea of building a scooter inspired by the Blade Runner movie was fascinating enough to grab all the attention. After several prototypes and an overall development period of four years, the Ather S340 is only a few months away now. It will also be India's first smart electric scooter.

Talking about the scooter, the Ather S340 comes equipped a 7-inch touchscreen instrument console which has modern features like parking assist, smartphone connectivity, navigation assist, push navigation, and vehicle charging point tracker. It also has CBS for controlled braking, LED lighting for improved vision and a generous underseat storage with light.

The Ather S340 is powered by a lithium-ion battery which can last up to 50,000km. With a claimed top speed of 72kmph, the scooter can travel a range of 60km on a full charge. It comes with an option of fast charging and the company claims that it takes about 50 minutes to charge up the scooter to 80 per cent.

Electric vehicle manufacturers, in the past, have faced challenges like lack of charging stations. Ather, being proactive in this regard, will set up charging points in Bengaluru, which will go live in May. The plan of coming up with a customer experience centre is another thoughtful move by the company, to help potential buyers test and know more about the electric scooter. The first centre will be started in Indira Nagar, Bengaluru.

In the Indian EV market, the Ather S340 will lock horns with the Twenty Two Motor Flow (Rs 74,740) and the Okinawa Praise (Rs 59,899, both ex-showroom Delhi). The S340’s price is still unknown though. We’ll have to wait until its launch for the same.