Buying The Ather 340: Lease Vs Loan - Which is Cheaper?
We explain if leasing the Ather 340 makes more sense than getting one through a loan
Ather Energy, a Bengaluru-based electric vehicle manufacturer, recently announced a new leasing program for its scooters - the Ather 340 and the Ather 450. Naturally, we had to compare if the new leasing program makes more financial sense than buying the e-scooter through a loan. So we’ve chosen the most affordable scooter of the lot, the 340, and crunched some numbers in a bid to help you save some dough. Check out the table below for details:
| Ather 340 On-road price: Rs 1,12,730 (B) | Ather subscription fee is Rs 6,000 (C) | |
| Lease (24 months) (Rs) | Loan (24 months) (Rs) | |
| Downpayment (D) | 48,000 | 48,000 |
| Monthly Rent/EMI | 3,101 | 3,156 |
| Total Rent/EMI paid over 24 months (E) | 74,424 | 75,744 |
| Extra cost to permanently buy scooter at the end of 2 years | 45,000 | NA |
| Ather subscription fee (for 2nd year) | NA | 6,000 |
| Total Cost of Ownership at the end of 2 years (A) | 1,67,424 | 1,29,744 |
| Extra money spent over outright purchase = A - (B+C) | 48,694 | 11,014 |
| Money-back if scooter returned after lease period (F) | 28,800 | NA |
| Total expense if scooter returned after lease period (G) = D + E - F | 93,624 | NA |
| Savings after returning scooter after lease period = B - G | 25,106 | NA |
Going by the above calculations, it’s pretty evident that buying the Ather 340 through a loan is marginally less expensive than leasing one. But that’s only if you decide to keep the scooter after the lease period expires. However, if you lease the scooter and then part ways with it after two years, then you stand to save Rs 25,106 against the on-road price of the scooter.
Another interesting aspect to note is that if you buy the scooter by paying the on-road price at once, use it for two years and sell it off for at least half the on-road price, you still get a retrun of around Rs 56,000! In a nutshell, the most affordable way to buy the Ather 340 remains the traditional way - a one-time direct transaction.
If you are wondering how the Ather 340’s running costs compares against India’s best-selling scooter, the Honda Activa 5G, check out our cost analysis for a period of 3 years here.
Praveen M.
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