Electric scooter start-up Ather Energy has announced new prices for its 450X e-scooter, which is now priced from Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom, Bengaluru, including FAME-II subsidy). There is no 450 Plus variant any more – instead, it’s just the 450X. It can be had either in standard form, or with the ‘Pro Pack’ option included, which adds Rs 30,364 to the price, bumping the scooter’s price up to Rs 1.45 lakh for the range-topping model. These prices are lower by about Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, compared to previous prices for Ather's scooters. However, there is more to this announcement than meets the eye.
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With this rejig, both variants of Ather’s scooter are now identical in a mechanical sense. Unlike the 450 Plus, the base 450X doesn’t have a smaller battery pack, but employs the same 3.7 kWh battery as the 450X Pro Pack. As a result, it also offers the same, ARAI-certified range of up to 146 kilometres. Even the base 450X’s peak motor output remains the same at 6.4 kW (8.58 bhp) and 26 Nm of torque, and indicated top speed (90 kph) as well as the 0-40 kph acceleration time (3.3 seconds) are also identical to the top-spec 450X Pro Pack’s. However, that’s where the similarities end.
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Ather Energy – along with a few other EV manufacturers – has been mired in a controversy around the FAME-II subsidy. Anonymous emails sent to government officials prompted authorities to question manufacturers who have been selling electric two-wheelers with the charger for their vehicles sold as a separate add-on at extra cost. Brands resorted to this strategy in order to comply with the FAME-II subsidy eligibility limit, which is pegged at Rs 1.50 lakh (ex-factory). Sources tell carandbike that the government had paused disbursal of FAME-II subsidies for a number of brands – including Ather Energy – following the ‘charger for an added cost’ controversy, for a few months since this practice was reported.
Ather previously sold the ‘Ather Dot’ charger for Rs 19,975, a cost not built into the ex-showroom price of the scooter.
Now, a bundled charger is included in the ex-showroom cost of the Ather 450X, but to keep prices in check, Ather has discontinued the 450 Plus, and is instead offering a decontented, entry-level version of the 450X with a significantly lower-capacity charger. Compared to the variant with the ‘Pro Pack’ specified, the base 450X has almost no features to speak of – yes, there is a 7.0-inch touchscreen, but it has a greyscale theme; there’s no 4G or Bluetooth connectivity, no media playback functionality, no connected features, no park assist and no ride modes. It’s worth noting that the now-discontinued 450 Plus did offer some of these features, including park assist and ride modes.
A lower-capacity charger sees the charge times for the base 450X shoot up to 12 hours and 15 minutes (0 to 80%) and 15 hours and 20 minutes for a full charge. In comparison, the 450X Pro Pack can achieve 0 to 80% charge in four hours and 30 minutes, and a full charge in five hours and 40 minutes. More importantly, though, the base 450X cannot be charged at Ather’s fast-charging station network, the Ather Grid. While buyers of the base model will have the option to choose a faster charger at a later date, they cannot opt for the Pro Pack after purchase. This is in sharp contrast to the 450 Plus, which could plug into Ather’s fast-charging network, which is the largest of its kind in India at present.
A set of questions mailed to Ather Energy remain unanswered at the time of filing this story. We shall update this piece once Ather shares its responses with carandbike.
