Ather electric scooter with a price tag below Rs. 1 lakh could change the game, assuming the Ola Scooter costs more.
.
Ather Energy’s upcoming electric scooter is expected to cost less than Rs. A price tag of 1 lakh. The Bengaluru-based EV firm, Tarun Mehta, has recently conceded that Ather sees a market in the segment below Rs. 1 lakh. While he did not specifically mention the fact that the company is working on such a vehicle, crucially, the Ather chief did not deny it either but simply said, “I think there’s a market at every price point.”
Mehta did explain that he does not want to participate in price wars and that he does not believe that “it makes sense to set up a market with a price point that you can’t long-term defend or build a business upon.”
By next year, it is expected that Ather will release a new electric scooter with a price under Rs. 1 lakh. A new scooter from the EV maker will be its most affordable product to date.
Currently, the firm sells its 450 Plus scooter for Rs. 1.13 lakhs and its flagship 450X at Rs. 1.32 lakhs in Delhi (prices are ex-showroom). Both have seen a price reduction recently due to the revised Fame 2 norms.
While the introductory price of both the 450 Plus and 450X is the same at Rs. 1.71 lakhs, the latter gets a performance upgrade that costs Rs. 19,010/-. Add the Fame 2 subsidy of Rs. 43,500/- and the Delhi government’s incentive of Rs. 14,500/-, we arrive at the final figure.
Gujarat’s government offers direct-to-consumer incentives that reduce the scooter prices in Ahmedabad even further. Ather must bring the ex-showroom price of the EV (excluding subsidies) to under Rs. 1.50 lakhs to bring the price of the upcoming electric scooter below Rs. 1 lakh.
According to the Ather CEO, Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards (which will take effect on 1st April 2022) will further increase the asking prices of internal combustion scooters.
Moreover, Tarun Mehta has said the upgrades developed for the 450X in the future will be focused on improving the EV’s performance. He wants to equip the scooter with a better regenerative braking system, enhanced ABS, and make it go faster than it can at present.