Ather Energy Announces Entry into Chennai Region Along with Charging Infra by June

Ather Energy, has announced its plan to enter the Auto Hub of India, Chennai, in June 2019.  On the heels of its announcement of launching in multiple cities this year, Chennai is the second city the company is entering after its commercial launch in Bengaluru in 2018. With this, Ather enters its rapid expansion phase, and plans to be in 30 cities over the next couple of years.

As in the case of Bengaluru, Ather Energy will be introducing both its products 450 and 340, along with setting-up its public charging infrastructure, Ather Grid, across consumer-friendly locations such as cafes, malls, tech-parks, gyms, etc.  To encourage adoption of EVs in the city, Ather Energy has announced free charging at Ather Points for all electric vehicles for the first 6 months. Ather’s electric and intelligent scooters bring ease of access and convenience to their owners by allowing them to identify charging point locations and their real time availability through the Ather Grid app. This unique model is currently existent in Bengaluru with Ather Grid up and running at 24 charging locations with 31 charging points.

After witnessing tremendous success in Bengaluru with stocks of Ather 450 being sold out till September 2019 in Bengaluru alone, the company today has opened its early access privileges to Chennaites and the rest of India as it ramps up. The “Pre-Order Interest” option on the company’s website gives consumers priority deliveries, early access to book the Ather 450 & Ather 340 and invitations to exclusive events and test rides.

Ather Energy reiterated its commitment to developing India’s charging ecosystem by announcing its pan-India association with Godrej Nature’s Basket recently. The partnership will see Ather Energy setting-up its charging stations - Ather Point - at Godrej Nature’s Baskets’ 35 odd locations across the country.

Holding a special place for the company’s founders and IIT Madras graduates – Tarun and Swapnil, Chennai has become a hotbed of innovation and technology. It was during their time at the institute that the founders decided to build electric scooters instead of battery packs to address the influx of substandard EVs flooding the Indian market.

Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer says, "After a successful launch in Bengaluru, we are expanding across the country starting with Chennai. The launch in Chennai is like a homecoming for Ather, as the organization was conceptualised at IIT Madras. We have already started receiving pre-order interest from enthusiasts on the website. As we enter this exciting market, we are looking at extending the same go-to-market strategy that we employed in Bengaluru, starting with accepting pre-orders, setting up of the charging infrastructure and the Experience Center, followed by the delivery of vehicles.”

About Ather 450: The Ather 450 is designed for city riding conditions, it comes with a top speed of 80 km/hr, a range of 75 km and one of the quickest accelerations for the scooter category of 0-40 km/hr in 3.9 seconds. Also, for the first time in the category, Ather 450 comes with parking assist, which allows riders to reverse into tight parking spots. The key differentiators of the Ather 450 are its intelligent features, seamless charging and ownership experience. The Ather 450 has a 7” touchscreen dashboard that allows onboard navigation with options of alternate routes and saved locations. It comes with the Ather app that enables push navigation from the phone to the vehicle dashboard, remote monitoring of the vehicle’s health and charge status. Finally, with the over-the-air (OTA) updates functionality, the vehicle is capable of improving over time with continuous upgrades and the addition of new features and functionalities.

About Ather Energy: Ather Energy, India’s premium, smart electric vehicle company was founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Backed by founders of Flipkart, Tiger Global and Hero Motocorp, Ather Energy has designed India’s first truly intelligent electric scooters - Ather 450 & Ather 340 - powered by a comprehensive public charging network, Ather Grid, built and designed in India.  With 31 charging Points in Bengaluru, Ather Grid is the largest fast charging network for two wheelers in the country. With over 42 patent applications, 127 trademarks and 122 design registrations to its name, Ather Energy aims to provide consumers with the best possible ownership experience. The company currently operates in Bengaluru and will be entering the Chennai market in June 2019, followed by other major cities across the country.