Ather

Ather 450X – Description of the fault, and how it led to the incident; damage limitation despite wiring harness catching fireAther Electric Scooter FireBy now, readers would be aware of the scooter fire in Bangalore. A few weeks ago, there was an incident involving an Ather electric scooter. But fear not. Ather Energy knows exactly what happened. And no, it didn’t blow up. The wiring harness did however catch fire. Even better, the customer is safe. And no further damage was reported.The root cause of the accident was traced back to a human error in the wiring harness assembly process. One of the connectors was improperly torqued, which led to sparking around the motor controller terminals. Although safety systems activated promptly to cut off power flow and limit damage, the wiring harness had already caught fire. Ather Energy has issued a statement to address the scooter fire.Ather Energy introduces two-step verification processIn taking full responsibility for this incident, Ather Energy has taken steps to ensure it does not happen again. Manufacturing operations have been updated and enhanced, including the introduction of a two-step verification process for the wiring harness assembly. This will help to reduce the risk of human error and increase the overall quality and safety of Ather e-scooters.Battery management systems (BMS) play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and reliability of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The BMS monitors the battery cells in real-time, controlling the charging and discharging processes, and ensuring optimal battery performance. A dashboard safety system is also important in EVs, providing critical information to drivers, such as battery state-of-charge, range, and other performance metrics.[embedded content][embedded content]Explanation of the safety systems in place and how they prevented further damageIn the recent incident, it was confirmed that battery, BMS and dashboard systems performed as designed, and the battery remained unaffected. This highlights the high standards and rigorous testing protocols in place for EV battery systems.Ather Energy Official StatementIn all fairness, this appears to be an isolated incident. The incident has brought to light the importance of ensuring the highest standards of quality control. Ather Energy is committed to ensuring the safety and reliability of its e-scooters and continues to prioritise this in all operations. Case on point – Introduction of a two-step verification process for the wiring harness assembly.Electric two wheeler industry – high standards of quality and safetyElectric scooters are leading the way for EV sales. And as such, matters of breakdowns, fire, or even unsatisfactory performance are scrutinised with a fine tooth comb. Such concerns of existing and potential customers must be addressed promptly. Customers are looking for assurance that an EV manufacturer is committed to the safety and reliability of its products. As demand for EVs continues to grow, it’s crucial for manufacturers to prioritise battery and safety systems to ensure consumer confidence and trust. Adherence to international safety standards, such as UN 38.3, is essential to guarantee the safe and efficient operation of EVs.Companies are also investing in R&D to improve battery performance, safety and longevity, while reducing costs to make EVs more accessible to the masses. In conclusion, the battery, BMS, and dashboard safety systems are crucial components of any electric vehicle. As such, it’s imperative that manufacturers continue to prioritize and invest in their development to drive the growth and adoption of EVs. More

Rapid growth and success of Ather Scooters – Roll out of 1,00,000th scooter (True Red Ather 450X) at the factory in January 2023Ather Electric Scooter ProductionAther Scooters aims to create a more sustainable future through innovative and intelligent products. Since inception, Ather Energy has made significant progress in terms of production and innovation. And have now announced a production milestone – 1,00,000 units in January 2023. The rollout unit is a True Red Ather 450X, a new colour option that was showcased for the first time earlier in January 2023. And saw factory production floor personnel celebrate the occasion.A new year. A new beginning. And with it begins a new phase in Ather’s journey. Production timeline to a lakh units is as follows. It took Ather Energy 35 months to complete production of its first 10K units. The next 5 months helped it get to the 20k production mark. And another 5 months to get to the 30k unit mark.Thereafter there was the element of swiftness to keep up with demand. It took 3 months to manufacture the next 10k units to reach production of 40k units. Reaching 50k units took another 2 months, meaning that was the quickest 10k units production timeline. That was on August 30, 2022. Now less than 6 months later, Ather Energy has manufactured another 50k units. A journey that has been nothing short of remarkable.Ather Sales Jan 2023In Jan 2023, Ather electric scooter sales crossed the 12k mark. This was a 330% YoY growth and a 32% MoM growth. Production timeline of Ather Energy shows a steady increase in production starting from 35 months to produce its first 10,000 units. This corresponds with sales of a few 100s each month when Ather scooters were first launched. As demand increased, production processes were scaled up for efficient and faster production. This was evident in the quicker production timelines of 20K and 30K units, 5 months each.Ather Electric Scooter Sales Jan 2023By August 2022, it took only 2 months to produce 10K units and reach the 50K unit mark. Ather Energy was able to sustain momentum and manufacture another 50K units in under 6 months. This significant increase in production can be attributed to the company’s ability to quickly adapt and optimize its production processes to meet growing demand for its electric scooters. To keep up, Ather inaugurated its 2nd manufacturing plant in November 2022.December 2022 sales reached 9,187 units at YoY growth from 1,878 units, with MoM improvement of 27 percent. In comparison, by the end of Q1 ( Jan, Feb, March) 2022, sales were lesser at 7,458 units. Ather Energy became one of the top-selling EV manufacturers by 2022 end, with sales tripling to 59,123 units from 17,272 units in 2021. Sales progressively improved over the year, reaching 24,634 units in Q4 2022, 40,868 units in H2 2022. It’s easy to see why Ather Energy production has been considerably scaled up in recent months.Indian e-scooter industry growth trendAther has strong sales momentum. Alongwith brand growth. By 2022 end, the manufacturer was present in 70 cities with 89 Experience Centres. January 2023 is expected to be a bumper sales month. From February 1, 2023, Ather is introducing AutoHold in its Gen 3 scooters. This detects slopes and holds your scooter in place.Ather’s commitment to sustainability and innovation is built on intelligent charging infrastructure, connected scooters, and a seamless customer experience. These efforts have had a positive impact on company growth. As the electric two wheeler industry grows, the biggest challenges faced by the industry have evolved. While the initial hiccups involved waiting for demand to grow, today it’s all about meeting demand from a customer base that’s continually evolving. Looking forward, the company is poised for continued growth and success as it continues to strive for a more sustainable future. Ather’s sales growth not only strengthens the manufacturer’s industry position, but also that of the Indian electric scooter industry.Ather Energy – Growth impact and future productionThis will be possible once a third manufacturing plant is announced by the end of FY23. To meet growing demand, this plant will have an installed production capacity of 10 lakh units per annum. This takes Ather Energy’s total capacity to over 14 lakh units per year. Current capacity is 4.2 lakh units per annum in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, and it’s expected to be fully utilized by next fiscal end.Ather also plans to expand its sales network and enhance its product portfolio, including exports in the next 2-3 years. On ground growth will include 350 experience centres across 250 cities and towns by the end of next financial year. Ather Grid charging infrastructure will be expanded to 1,400 locations.Ravneet Singh Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy “We had a great start to this year, registering our best-ever monthly sales by delivering 12,419 units to our customers. We were thrilled by the response we received from the biggest-ever EV community day that we organised earlier in January. We also introduced Atherstack 5.0, our latest software upgrade that brings in a host of new features on our scooters, such as Vector Maps by Google and AutoHoldTM. Ather also announced an industry-leading 5-year warranty on its scooters and showcased its four new colours. On the retail front, Ather continued to rapidly expand its retail presence, and we opened 13 new outlets in January. Ather now has 102 Experience Centres in 80 cities. Our growing presence as well as new exciting features on the scooters have contributed to our increase in sales.” More

New Ather Battery Protect warranty scheme is applicable to all new 450X purchases and existing Ather owners can avail it at an additional costAther Electric Scooter New 2023 ModelAther Energy was among the first to launch a premium electric scooter in India. It even took performance electric scooter crown for a long time as well. The company even claims that 450X is the first ever scooter of any kind to come with a built-in touchscreen and first-ever scooter of any kind to get on board Google Maps.At Ather’s Community Day held on January 7th, there was a lot of information divulged from Ather. There was a new OTA update, a new warranty scheme, a new seat, and colours as well. There was a lot of attention given to update software, user interface and Google Maps integration as well. Now that TVC is out, let’s take a closer look.2023 Ather 450x Electric Scooter DeliveriesElectric powertrains need a lot of fine-tuning with their software so as to extract most out of its potential. These softwares are updated periodically to ensure the user gets the most optimum experience. Ola calls it Move OS and Ather calls it AtherStack. Latter is now updated and is called AtherStack 5.0.Tarun Mehta – Co-Founder & CEO, Ather Energy, said “Ather 450, was the first-ever software engine (AtherStack) on any two-wheeler in India, probably even globally. It enabled first-in-market features like a touchscreen dashboard, onboard navigation, and remote diagnostics. Some of which barely even existed in luxury cars at that time. With a fluid new UI and Google Vector Maps, AtherStack 5.0 takes our touchscreen and maps experience to a whole new level.[embedded content][embedded content]AtherStacks 5.0 also enabled Ather to leverage its hardware to unlock new experiences such as AutoHold. Importantly, it allowed the company to roll out these new experiences to most of our existing customers as well, based on their scooter generation. AtherStack will continue to form a core of the company’s product strategy, allowing Ather to constantly keep enhancing its product experience on existing hardware platform.”2023 Ather Electric Scooter SpecsAs seen in AtherStack 5.0 TVC, Ather has revamped its user interface for touchscreen dash to incorporate gestures instead of taps. Logical refinement is found throughout. Google Maps now gets Vector maps with perspective change and even live traffic updates. After working on it for 2 years, Ather finally launched AutoHold, which helps in inclined terrains.2023 Ather Electric Scooter SpecsNew Warranty, Colours, SeatOne of the most important announcements Ather did on Community day is Ather Battery Protect. This is an extended warranty program that covers Ather EVs for up to 5 years or 60,000 km. There is a guarantee of 70% performance at the end of 5 years too. Ather Battery Protect is standard on every new 450X, while Gen 2 and Gen 3 owners can opt for it at an additional cost.2023 Ather Electric Scooter SpecsAlong with Neighbourhood charging and new colours for 450X, Ather also showed a plusher seat. This seat is free for everyone that attended Ather Community Day and others can avail it at an additional cost. Ather operates in the premium electric scooter space and rivals Ola, TVS, Bajaj and upcoming Simple One. Deliveries have started. More

Through 2022, Ather Energy reported sales at over 59k units; Sales in December was up at 9,187 unitsAther Electric Scooter Red Colour TeasedAther Energy has responsibly channelised its funding opportunities into growth stories. And embarked on a journey of rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). No doubt customer benefits include the potential of EVs being less expensive to operate than fuel run ones.Even maintenance costs are suggested to be lower. But, Ather has left no stone unturned in showing up to meet customer demand. And this has been backed by a range of incentives that customers benefited through December.Ather Electric Scooter Sales Dec 2022Ather Energy reported December 2022 sales at 9,187 units. That is phenomenal YoY growth, up from 1,878 units. Volume growth stood at 7,309 units. MoM sales improved 27 percent, up from 7,234 units. Volume gain stood at 1,953 units. It goes without saying that as a year, 2022 has catapulted Ather Energy into one of the topsellers amongst EV manufacturers here.For this the company has reported significant growth, month on month. By year end, volumes had more than tripled. Through 2022, sales are reported at 59,123 units. In 2021, this number was reported at 17,272 units.Ather Electric Scooter Sales Dec 2022. Dec 2021 nos estimated based on growth % shared by Ather.As the year progressed, Ather sales progressively improved. At the end of Q1, sales stood at 7,458 units, up from 2,633 units in the comparable period. In the next quarter, sales surpassed the 10k unit mark for the first time, up from 1.5k units sold in Q2 2021. By the end of H1 2022, sales stood at 18,255 units, up from 4,131 units. Hereon, sales growth was reported at a faster pace.Ather Electric Scooter Sales 2022. 2021 nos estimated based on growth % shared by Ather.At the end of Q3 2022, Ather sales were reported at 16,234 units, up from 5,555 units. And Q4 sales have been larger than life at 24,634 units, up from 7,586 units. H2 2022 sales was reported at 40,868 units, up from 13,141 units.New Red Colour AtherRetail presence continues to improve. Alongside, the charging network across the country continues to expand owing to the efforts of multiple stakeholders. This further boosts customer morale as one isn’t burdened with range anxiety, as finding a charging point is easier today, than it was yesterday.Ather Electric Scooter Red Colour – Render by Nithin R.Market trends in recent months were more than favourable to EVs, especially electric scooters. To say the least, electric scooter sales have been doing well. The trend is particularly exciting in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. Ather has plans to launch new electric vehicles in the future. Later this week, on the 7th Jan 2023, Ather is expected to launch a new red colour option, that has now been teased.Discussions around EV adaption often broaches the subjects of reduced environmental impact, and lower fuel costs. The world over, discussions about the future of mobility take into consideration the far-reaching effects of fossil fuels. And, most plans point to lowering dependency on fuel run vehicles.Highest Monthly Sales In Dec 2022As more and more EV models become available from all manufacturers, it’s now becoming increasingly easy for customers to find an electric vehicle that meets their needs and preferences. And while Ather doesn’t sell a wide range of electric scooters, they sure understand customer preference.Ravneet Singh Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy “We exit the year with strong sales momentum, and despite an industry dip of almost 40% in two-wheeler sales, our December retails grew by 26% over November. We continued expanding our retail footprint, adding 14 new outlets and are now present in 70 cities with 89 Experience Centres. With the year turning, continued industry momentum, and some exciting news lined up for us in January, we expect it to be a bumper month for Ather.” More

Ather currently has 450 Plus and 450 X electric scooters in its portfolio – They have plans to launch a few more in 2023Image for illustration purpose.Ather has been consistently driving sales by providing a unique experience to customers via their experience centers. Sales are complemented by consistent quality in service as well. Last month, Ather sales crossed 7,500 units, registering a 252.47% YoY growth and 7.82% MoM growth.Ather electric scooters come with a premium pricing. Despite that, they have managed to post solid sales growth over the years, especially in 2022. This year Ather electric scooter sales are likely to cross the 55k mark, registering a growth of over 230% YoY. In comparison, their rival Ola has sold close to 1.5 lakh scooters in 2022.New Ather Electric Scooter 2023To boost sales, Ather needs to launch an electric scooter which is priced in the Rs 80k to 1 lakh range. And it looks like we might get a new affordable Ather soon. The company is holding its community day on January 7th of 2023 and is expected to launch a new product.Earlier this year, a new electric scooter by Ather was spotted under testing and looks like it has the same flesh and bones as its premium sibling 450X Gen 3. Is this the new product that Ather will launch?Ather Electric Scooter Sales 2022. Dec nos estimated.Since Government’s subsidies will end in the future, Ather will likely launch a new scooter at a lower price point than its current products. Designing and developing a new chassis will incur heavy costs. Hence, this new scooter currently under testing, is likely to get the same aluminium space-frame chassis as 450X or use steel instead.But what about the features like a touchscreen, smartphone integration and the likes? Ather is likely to retain most of the features that are offered with the 3rd generation of 450X. Just like Ola S1 offers most of the features that are offered with the pricier S1 Air. Without these features, Ather might find it tough to market at around a price tag of Rs. 80,000 – 90,000.What To Expect?It is not yet sure if Ather will launch the recently spied budget model or the maxi-styled electric scooter that was patented in May 2021. There might not be any new launches at all. Instead, Ather might just introduce new colour schemes or limited editions of Gen 3 450X as well.Ather new electric scooter patentIf there is a new budget offering in the cards as spotted recently, it will have around 2.5 to 3 kWh worth of juice. This is comparable to what Ola offers with S1 Air at 2.5 kWh and S1 at 3 kWh. In contrast, 450X Gen 3 offers 3.7 kWh of battery.Ather’s upcoming budget scooter might be equipped to cover around 100km on a single charge while 450X Gen 3 is rated for a 146 km range. Official updates from Ather regarding these developments are not yet out. When launched this new model is likely to rival Ola S1 Air which is priced at Rs. 80K. More