Ather Energy rolls out assured buyback scheme for e-scooter model

Mumbai: Electric vehicle maker Ather Energy on Tuesday rolled out an “assured” buyback scheme, the first of its kind in the domestic EV space, for its 450X e-scooter model, which is set to hit the road next month.

Besides, the Bengaluru-based startup, which is 34.58 per cent owned by two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp, also announced cutting prices of Ather 45Plus model by Rs 9,000.

Under the assured scheme, aimed at accelerating EV adoption in the country, Ather Energy will buy back Ather 450X e-scooter at Rs 85,000, at the end of three years, Tarun Mehta, co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy, said at a virtual press conference.

The company revised its subscription plans, offering more flexibility to customers, starting at Rs 125 per month.

Ather Energy has built its own li-ion battery packs and an overall robust platform in the Ather 450 product line. The reliability of the product line has been tested since 2018 in Bengaluru and later in Chennai, and on seeing the high consistency in performance, Ather Energy has launched a unique buyback plan, the company said.

The high reliability of the product will ensure that the scooters will command a strong value in the resale market, as witnessed by existing owners of Ather 450, it added.

The revised subscription plans now offer four independent packs that the customer can choose from based on their usage – Connect Lite (for all basic connected features), Connect Pro, Service Lite (periodic maintenance, roadside assistance and labour) and Service Pro (premium service experience), according to the company.

Ather has also made the charging at public charging points, Ather Grid, free till March next year, Mehta said.

“Our faith in our product line has allowed us to create innovative solutions to make the switch to electric, easier – whether it is purchase or ownership. We believe Ather Energy’s electric scooters are going to have a fantastic value for years and will keep improving with new features which we will roll out as over the air upgrades. And to strengthen that assurance we are announcing a resale guarantee,” Mehta said.

Aside from the new buyback programme, Ather Energy has also improved some of the purchase enabling solutions for the launch of Ather 450X, it said, adding post the success of the lease model in Bengaluru and Chennai, the company will be extending the same for the Ather 450X across all cities.

The model allows the customers to access a fully loaded Ather 450X at a lower price point and a nominal monthly fee. In the current economic context, this might be significant for a segment of customers who are unwilling to opt for a full purchase, Ather Energy said.

To reduce the overall cost of ownership of the 450X model, Bengaluru consumers can exchange their old petrol internal combustion engine-powered 2-wheeler and others can opt for low-interest rate loans from multiple partners that the EV startup has tie-ups with, it said.

The revised price of Ather 450 Plus now stands at Rs 1,39,990 (ex-showroom) from Rs 1.49 lakh earlier, Ather Energy said.