Ather 340 & 450 electric scooters launched in India

Ather, a Bangalore-based electric mobility start-up funded by the likes of Hero MotoCorp and Flipkart, has just launched its first electric vehicles in India – the 350 and 450 electric scooters. The Ather 340 is priced at Rs. 1.1 lakhs, on-road Bangalore, and the 450 is priced at Rs. 1.25 lakhs. What’s the difference between the two scooters? Battery range, and electric motor outputs. The Ather 340 will give you a 60 kilometer range per charge of its lithium ion battery stack while the 450 will give you a 75 kilometer range. Both scooters are tech-packed and use some of the most advanced materials ever seen on Indian scooters.

Both the Ather 340 and 450 use an aluminium frame, with the battery as the stressed member. Developed in-house by Ather, the Lithium Ion batteries make for the floorboard of both the scooters, keeping the center of gravity low and making the scooters nimble handlers.

Both scooters use a 2.4 Kwh lithium ion batteries. The 340 gets a 5.9 Bhp electric motor while the 450 gets a 7.2 Bhp motor. The motor makes 20 Nm of torque on the 340 and 20.5 Nm of torque on the 450. Top speed of the 340 is rated at 70 Kph, while the 450 can do 80 Kph. The 0-40 Kph sprint on the 340 comes up in 5.1 seconds while the 450 is significantly faster, with a 3.9 second 0-40 Kph sprint. Save for the different power ratings, performance, and the battery ranges, there’s very little to differentiate between both the scooters.

Styling is very sharp, with clean lines all around. The fully digital, 7 inch instrument cluster gets GPS and is connected to the internet through a cloud based server, which also sends diagnostic reports to Ather, a-la-Tesla. The scooter even gets a park assist where the electric motor can be activated to reverse the scooter from tight parking spots. The cutting-edge technology packed into these scooters give them a sophisticated, futuristic feel. Conventional bits include suspension and braking. Suspension bits consist of telescopic front forks and a monoshock rear. Both scooters get tubeless tyres and disc brakes on both wheels.

Presently, these scooters are available only in Bangalore and Ather will soon launch them nationwide in a phased manner. The buying process is totally online, just like Tesla. You need to visit the Ather website, buy the scooter, and the company will deliver one to you.