Ather Energy inviting applications for dealership outlets

Homegrown e-scooter manufacturer Ather Energy is looking for dealers to expand its footprint in the country and is inviting applications via its website. The company is urging its dealer partners to set up experience centres or Ather Space as the company calls it, to enable customers to experience the product and the brand. Currently, Ather has two such centres in Bengaluru and Chennai.

As per a tweet from Tarun Mehta, co-founder of the company, over 200 applications from 75 cities were recorded within 2 hours of the announcement on 3 January.

Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer said:

Intelligent electric vehicles are a new category for which the traditional retail model doesn’t really work. It is an opportunity for us and our partners to prepare for the next phase of the automobile revolution, invest in skill development and provide employment for a new breed of retail professionals.

The company’s flagship model, Ather 450 gets several category-first features. It is GSM-enabled with over-the-air (OTA) updates for new features and functionalities. The Ather mobile app allows owners to monitor the charge status and the health of the vehicle remotely and they can also push locations directly from their phone to the Ather 450. The e-scooter also gets 7-inch touchscreen dashboard with features like onboard navigation, onboard diagnostics and a document locker. The vehicle offers reverse park assist and the largest under-seat storage space.

Ather 450 is powered by a 5.4 kW BLDC motor and 2.8 kWh Li-ion battery that ensures the scooter accelerates from 0-40 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. The e-scooter offers a gradient of 18 degrees against the government recommended 7 degrees for two-wheelers and with a fast charger, the Ather 450 can be charged to 80% at 1 km/min.

Customers can charge their scooters in Ather Grid, the company’s own charging network accessible to all-electric two and four-wheelers. The Ather Grid network currently has 34 charging points at 26 locations in Bengaluru and 10 charging points in Chennai. The company has plans to expand the network and set-up 6500 EV charging points in 30 cities by 2023. Ather will bring out a more affordable scooter next year that will be followed by an electric motorcycle.