Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler start up, Ather Energy, has announced that deliveries for the Ather 340 and Ather 450 electric scooters will commence on September 10. The two models were launched for Rs 1.10 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh respectively (on-road, Bengaluru) on June 5, 2018. The keys to the first wave of Ather electric scooters will be handed over to the customers by Tarun Mehta (Co-founder and CEO) and Swapnil Jain (Co-founder and CTO) at the Ather Vehicle Factory in Whitefield, Bengaluru.
Both Ather offerings will be only available in Bengaluru, for now; though the company has plans to expand their brand to 12 major cities by 2020. The main reason for this city-based approach is the fact that Ather wants to set-up its own EV-charging infrastructure (called AtherGrid) in all cities before it commences sales.
Both, the 340 and the 450 models feature the same styling, features and dimensions. The only difference and a big one at that, is that the 450 offers better performance. The 340 uses a 4.4kW motor with a torque rating of 20Nm. It has a claimed top speed of 70kph and a 0-40kph acceleration time of 5.1sec. The Ather 450, meanwhile, is powered by a 5.4kW motor producing 20.5Nm of torque, a claimed top speed of 80kph and a 0-40kph run is completed in a quick 3.9sec.
The Ather 340 has a claimed real-world riding range of 60km in economy mode and 50km in power mode. Meanwhile, Ather claims a real-world range of 75km in 'economy' and 60km in 'power' for the 450. ARAI claims much higher figures for both two-wheelers but the company is awaiting confirmation on these. On the AtherGrid, the company claims 80 percent of the battery can be charged in 50min.
We rode the scooter after their launch and found them to be really impressive. However, the company is not stopping here. They are already working on two new scooters that will debut by 2021, which you can read more about here.
Also see:
Buying Ather electric scooters: 7 things to know