Your Honda Activa can now be exchanged for a new Ather electric scooter

After introducing the subscription plan model on the updated 450X electric scooter, Ather Energy has now introduced an exchange program for petrol-engine scooters. From Honda Activa to Bajaj Pulsar, customers can exchange any of their two-wheelers for the Ather 450.

Ather has partnered with CredR for the exchange program, which is a bid to promote the adoption of electric mobility and make buying the 450 Plus and 450X electric scooters easy in the era of social distancing where people would opt for personal transport over shared mobility. Customers who want to exchange their old two-wheeler can visit the nearest Ather Space with it, where it will be inspected by Ather Product Specialists and an exchange value for the old two-wheeler will be given immediately. After a final check by CredR for a quote approval, customers can take delivery of their new Ather 450 by paying the difference amount.

Ather requests customers to bring the original RC, 2 photocopies of address proof and ID proof each and original insurance. The original purchase invoice, RTO NOC, Bank NOC and Letter for nomination of ownership with ID proof are also required, if applicable.

Commenting on the partnership with CredR, Ather Energy’s Chief Business Officer, Ravneet Phokela has said that this exchange program reduces the stress for two-wheeler owners and makes the process of exchanging their vehicles for a new one more seamless. CredR Chief Strategy Officer Sasidhar Nandigam has commented that this partnership seemed like a great channel to scale the supply infrastructure with many customers are now moving towards electric vehicles.

The 450 Plus and 450X scooters are priced at Rs 1.49 lakh and Rs 1.59 lakh ex-showroom respectively, making them costlier than the Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube. The electric scooters from Ather can also be had for Rs 99,000 without the cost of batteries, which can be subscribed at Rs 1,699 for the 450 Plus and Rs 1,999 for the 450X. The battery subscription plan allows the customers to get the batteries replaced if the capacity drops below 80 per cent, unlimited charging in Ather Grid and OTA updates.

Ather is also said to be working on other business models and financing options to make ownership easier for its scooters. Recently, Ather Energy’s Co-founder and CEO, Tarun Mehta interacted with CNBC-TV18 in a panel discussion and stated that the company’s focus will now be on improving operations rather than launching new products.

Ather has restarted its operations with both production and retail in May and said retail expansion plans are not heavily impacted by the Coronavirus shutdown.