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EV maker, Ather Energy, plans to expand its distribution by increasing its touchpoints from 160 in December 2022 to 250 by March 2023, CEO and co-founder Tarun Mehta said at Ather Community Day’ 2023.
Mehta added that the company’s market share currently at 12 per cent is expected to grow, as its addressable market increases. Commenting on Ather’s plan for IPO, Mehta said that the company will not do a public listing before becoming profitable. While the company has today become unit economics positive, it is still away from achieving profitability.
Ather has rolled out AtherStack 5.0, the newest upgrade to its software engine. AtherStack 5.0 will come with a new UI for the scooter dashboard along with vector maps powered by Google. The company has expanded options for customers by introducing four new colours, a new seat, AutoHold to help ride on inclines, a five-year extended battery warranty program, andaccessories and merchandise.
Speaking on the rollout of the AtherStack 5.0, Mehta said, “With a fluid new UI and Google Vector Maps, AtherStack 5.0 takes the touchscreen and maps experience to a whole new level. It also enables us to leverage our hardware to unlock new experiences such as AutoHoldTM. Importantly, it allows us to roll out these new experiences to most of our existing customers as well, based on their scooter generation. AtherStack will continue to form a core of our product strategy, allowing us to constantly keep enhancing our product experience on the existing hardware platform.”
AtherStack is the software engine that powers every single user experience on the Ather 450X, built on various interconnected layers of software, firmware, system intelligence, and algorithms. With the new UI, Ather claims to have reduced the ride screen time by 50-60 per cent and improved ride accuracy by 2X. Further, the new maps come with live traffic and a navigation view showing the rider’s perspective. Ather has also introduced four new colours in its scooters—True Red, Cosmic Black, Salt Green, and Lunar Grey—in addition to the existing Space Grey and White colours.
Neighborhood Charging
Ather has announced a new initiative called Ather Neighborhood Charging. This charging solution provides access to charging points in shared private spaces such as apartment complexes, office buildings, and tech parks. Ather Neighborhood Charging will have the capability to power not just Ather scooters but any electric vehicle, whether it’s a scooter, car, or even a three-wheeler. The company also revealed its plan to install 2,500-plus fast charging grids in the next 12 months. Ather Energy currently has a fast-charging network of 850-plus chargers.
The new Ather 450X and 450 Plus will be available for test rides and retail across 70 cities and 89 Experience Centres across the country. As an ode to early adopters of Ather scooters, the company announced a buyback offer for its first 1,000 customers. This allows them to buy the new Ather 450X at ₹80,000. The first 1,000 consumers who opt for this buyback upgrade will get an additional discount of ₹10,000 making the effective price as ₹70,000.
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