I think smart phone connectivity not in Ather
It is there. The Ather app lets you push locations from your phone to the bike, letâs you track charging progress, provides ride statistics, set navigation shortcuts on the bikeâŚ
On Road has been now changed to 1,13,000
Ather One Plan for First year - 2832
Ather One Plan for 2nd to 5th year - 39600
Insurance Comprehensive 5 Years - 5900 (I Personally got it done from Oriental)
Battery Replacement - 25000 (Latest estimate figure as told my the Ather sales)
Total - 1,86,332
If you sell your bike after 5 years - You still save about 30 to 40000 rupees after you sell the vehicle depending on what amount you sell.
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You can save up-to 12000 when you purchase Ather 450 on loan
This post is for potential Ather owners who
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- Falls under 30% income tax bracket
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- Plans to pay full cash to buy the Ather 450.
As we all know Ather has a tie up with Hero Fincorp and offers one of the lowest ( I do not know anything lower than this ) vehicle loans in the country. 8.5% ( Flat Rate)
The government has introduced tax deduction for interest paid on loans for electric vehicles ( 80EEB)
The maximum amount you can loan is 94000. My idea is to put this 94000 in an FD and take loans. You will pay 8.5% interest on the loan . But you will get 30% tax deduction on that interest. So effective interest rate after tax reduction is 5.9%. In a FD you will earn 7.5-8%. You can pocket 8-5.9% = 2.1%. Please find the pic for detailed calculation
P.S I know I have not added tax on interest earned from FD. Up to 10000 per year is tax free. If you already have considerable amount in FD, open an fd for some other family member ( Your wife ,children etc ) .
Interest rates from https://www.axisbank.com/retail/calculators/fd-calculator. Am sure there are better rates than this in market. FD is a safe bet . If you are a risk taker go ahead and invest it somewhere else and save more !.
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A small correction: 10K exemption is only for interest earned on savings account. FD interest is still taxable⌠There will still be some savings, but it will be very negligible to consider.
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@prasathvishnu Thanks for pointing this out. I forgot that FD interest is taxed.
We will have to find a close family member who falls under the 5L tax category . This way we can avoid tax from FD.
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Too complex for what its worth and it is called tax evasion 
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am paying more tax on my payg just because i have decided i will not have aadhar (around 40k per annum)
saving tax on loan is far away for me
too good to see some planning
i donât see any tax evasion it is just that keeping cards at right place
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Sorry if I offended anyone hereâŚ
If you are getting some income it is taxable⌠If you are going to save some tax by investing it on some one else name, then you by-passed the tax part.
And, I am also very very cost sensitive person, try to save every possible penny possible⌠
A different perspective towards the Ather 450X pricing
I do a basic math for almost all big ticket purchases that I make.
The thought process while evaluating a purchase is simple, how much am I willing to pay monthly if I were to use the product and not buy it.
If I am willing to pay an all inclusive payment of Rs. 1,000 for a product per month, and its usable life is 5 years, then I can spend Rs. 60,000 on a product while buying it. Which should include all expenses including: Purchase cost, maintenance, running cost, lost interest over the life, and subtract resale cost.
For a product like the 450X, I would be willing to spend close to 4,000 per month(all inclusive) and I would estimate that the vehicle lasts 6 years without much need for service or repairs. The resale cost can be assumed at Rs. 40,000 (worst case)
(Now, this number can be different for different users. Given that I ride nearly 800km a month now, and I like riding overall. I wouldnât mind paying 4,000)
Over the course of 6 years, I can spend around 4,000x12x6 = Rs. 2,88,000.
Now, the purchase price here is nearly Rs. 1,70,000 just for the vehicle on road.
Add a diminishing interest on the purchase at approximately 8% P.A. that I would have otherwise earned on the money put in.
This equates to approximately 4.4% fixed interest, for 6 years, = Rs. 44,880
Add to it a subscription equivalent to Ather One earlier, Rs. 10,000/year.
That brings the total cost to 170,000 + 60,000 + 44,880 = Rs.2,74,880
Factor in some damage and repairs at Rs. 20,000 on top of this and subtract the 40,000 resale value.
This brings our total to 2,74,880 + 20,000 - 40,000 = Rs. 2,54,880.
The total cost of ownership of the 450X is close to Rs. 2.55 Lakhs for a period of 6 years. And I am willing to spend nearly 2.9 Lakhs for a product like the 450X during the same course of time. Hence, the purchase for me can be justified.
Coming to the debate of Ather vs Activa vs Chetak vs iCube
While a lot of people have been comparing the 450X to the above mentioned vehicles, just because itâs either electric or itâs a scooter. This comparison to me honestly doesnât make sense.
Just because the overall industry is at a certain price point or benchmark, doesnât mean everything should compete with that.
There is a Suzuki Alto, and there is a Suzuki Ciaz, two vehicles from the same brand but miles apart in pricing. Here, Iâm not even getting into different brands.
Unfortunately, in India, scooters were never seen as aspirational purchases. Something the first gen Ather 450 changed. It made scooters aspirational.
Hereâs why you should buy the 450X:
- You want a great vehicle and can appreciate the finer details, features and the experience of riding it.
- You see it as a gadget, and something that brings a smile to your face every time you twist the throttle.
- You ride more than 30-40km a day, in which case you can even breakeven.
- You âwant itâ more than you âneed itâ.
Hereâs why you shouldnât:
- You have been comparing the 450X to Bajaj or TVS just because they too are electric.
- You have been comparing it to an Activa/NTorq.
- You are on a budget and are just trying to save money by riding electric. You can buy a much cheaper to own and run alternative.
- You see it and would use it just like another scooter for getting groceries or dropping your kids to the bus stop.
The 450X is not the scooter for you.
Now, if your question is, "Why does the 450X cost so much?"
Simply put, thereâs nothing else like it.
If your question is, "Why canât Ather make a cheaper vehicle?"
Why would they? They have enough number of people whoâd buy the 450X. They are still not trying to compete with the Hondas and TVSs of the world. They are trying to create their own market. Just like the iPhone did, or the AirPods did.
Whoâd have thought a tiny wireless earphone could create a $15 Billion market for Apple?
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With newer tech stuffed into 450x like TPMS ,finally 4G connectivity little price hike is justified but why was safety feature like ABS excluded ? why measly increase in range of just 10km over 450 ? With weight reduction and new battery type was hoping for more range ? Does little iterative improvements justify such massive increase in price ?
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Did you ever step back and consider that the Ather 450 was massively underpriced?
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Good writeup, dear Mr. Shreyas.
This means that with lesser distance per day (in my case its only 18.5km), going for a subscription based model is basically not cost-effetive. I am not sure if even owing Ather-450 would be beneficial for me. I found lease option is actually costlier for me. (Considering lease for protection against obsolescence). May be that Ather-450 may not be the right one that suits my needs. Perhaps outright purchase needs to be considered.
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1.47 if i remember correctly was itâs price before fame 2 subsidy.i think 1.47 lakh is not cheap for what 450 offers. Lack of 4G , laggy dashboard, no abs ,poor plastic panels fit and finish, rear wheels which locks up easily. If it wasnât for all these problems then i would be happy to pay more. but lot of these unresolved issues which havenât been addressed in upgraded variant also yet it got massive price.
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Every user has different needs and that was a good perspective from a user who plans to ride more. I was doing similar calculations and was trying to come with a break-even monthly mileage where the subscription plans make sense.
Since the target of Ather is to pull away users from conventional ICE scooters, let us assume that the starting price of both the 450x and the ICE scooter are the same ( around 98K-100K). Now, the ICE scooter user has to spend money on fuel, while the 450x user has to spend money on the subscription plan.
Assuming a mileage of 30kmpl (which is pretty low IMO), and a fuel price of 90Rs(which is a bit high), inorder to spend Rs. 2000 (which is the monthly subscription for 450x), the user would have to travel around 670 kms per month. So if your usage is more than this, i think the 450x makes sense for you. Otherwise, it doesnât make much sense. Again, this is a conservative estimate, since most 2 wheelers give a mileage more than 30kmpl and the fuel price hasnât touched Rs. 90 yet, so the break even mileage is more closer to 1000kms per month.
Personally, most people I know donât spend more than Rs. 1000 on their 2 wheeler fuel. I have a 4 wheeler and I spend around Rs. 4000 on my monthly fuel expenses. On my ICE 2 wheeler that I used to have before the 450, I barely spent Rs. 500 on itâs monthly fuel.
Since Ather has access to all our ride statistics, I hope they found that the percentage of users who ride this much are enough to meet their volume targets.
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do you believe Ather 450 is lack In Performance if any kind
Do you believe Ather 450 is the best in market
Do you believe ATHER is taking infinite advantage success of 450
Then why your maths say you to keep the Ather 450X for 6 years . Have you ever kept any scooter for so long period , any one will go for upgrade as more better features will be coming up in market
Why we switching to EV, So fuel cost is not there , but here you giving the fuel cost in term of subscriptions & you are glued to only Ather 450X & you cant turn back as your investments is dead totally
As already 450 is giving good returns to the customers
Ather 450X is a panic launch done by Ather
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Few thoughts on the Ather 450x.
- By looking at the specs provided by on the Ather website and post from the Ather team member over here. https://forum.atherenergy.com/t/meet-the-450x-plus-and-pro/5167/2
It looks like they are no difference in the Pro and Plus. Itâs just the same vehicle, some minor tweaks to over-perform in case of Pro.
This is something new in the Indian Auto industry. Whether the Indian market will welcome it need to be seen.
- Whatâs the actual ex-showroom price of the 450x without the Fame subsidy? Does it qualify for the fame subsidy? It seems like Ather joined the bandwagon of Bajaj and TVS and started to publish the price in different way.
The 450 model is priced at 1.33 lakh and gets around 26k as fame 2 subsidy. If weâre to deduce the price of 450x by looking at 450âs price. It should come to somewhere 1.49 + 26k, which is about 1.75 lakh. [Not sure, if a 2 wheeler priced at 1.75 lakh would qualify for fame 2 subsidy or not. Enlighten me]
If the above deduction is right there is price difference of 40k between 450 and 450x Plus.
Does the additional 10km true range, is worth 40k in price? Doesnât Ather should have provided 450 with a decent 4G capable dashboard at 1.33 lakh?
Hope Ather soon comes with certain clarity and makes a name for itself rather trying to become the Indian Tesla or Apple or Samsungâs or Oppoâs.
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Dear Shreyas,
Good write up. Ownership calculations are fairly accurate i.e approx 3L by end of the 6 year cycle. Summing up your argument.
*People are willing to spend upto 3 Lakhs/6 years.
*Ather is a unique one of a kind gadget.
*People who are looking for cheap transportation should look elsewhere.
Letâs lookinto to a scenario. You buy a 450X today and you are happily enjoying your scooter after 2 years (year 2022). Lot of potential customers are waiting in Q with the upto 3L/6year cycle plans in thier mind. Then one day out of nowhere Ather decides to launch 450Y with ABS and 95 true range. They also decide to discontinue 450X production line and upgrade the plans to a 5L/6 year cycle.
The present scenario is something similar. People who were looking to buy a 1.15 lakh scooter in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad are suddenly staring at a 1.6L scooter. This shock has been hard to digest for majority of potential Ather customers.
One can easily copy paste your arguments 2 years later by changing the cost of ownership and no one can argue against it. Itâs like US second ammendment. Itâs for those who can afford it. No one can argue against it. But if building gadgets is companyâs sole moto then Ather should surrender FAME subsidy because GOIâs intention with it is for something else. Like pusing ICE users to EVâs.
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Boss⌠Stop comparing apple and ather⌠Take into consideration where apple started and where ather has started now. Apple started in the US whereas ather has started in India(where redmi, one plus and all are way more popular) . Here more people (the masses) will be appealed by longer range, lower costs and upfront costs. By making it incredibly hard to buy upfront it will not be the desired option. Here the subscriptions come in⌠Sure as you said you can break even with 40km+ traveling per day⌠You are talking about the average km per day hereâŚIf you donât commute this much everyday itâs useless and the range of the scooter doesnât allow you to travel too much out of the side for weekend trips and road trips kind of activities⌠And if thatâs not enough the subscription itself negates the advantages that a electric scooter had in the first place = electricity is cheaper than petrol. And what not ather is planning to launch the public charging and service maintenance package on top of this which will turn out to be extremely pricy and most people will not want to buy such a product.
Athers vision as stated by Tarun in the unveiling is to accelerate the adoption of ev in India and to make people turn away for ice scooters. Here is where your reasoning doesnât make sense⌠Ather wants to be like apple in India but at the same time want to make electric vehicles more desirable? That doesnât make any sense nor do the reasons you give.
- âyou want it more than you need itâ? Wait thatâs not going to appeal to the people and accelerate the adoption of EVsâŚ
- You see it as a gadget? No, I see it as means of transportation and so do most people in India, sure the features are great(4G, Bluetooth, android, more acceleration) ⌠But where are the features that matter? For a scooter transportation convenience is greater than features like Bluetooth calling and music( I can do that with Bluetooth earphones or even normal earphones) why pay so much extra for that?
- You ride more than 30-40 km per day? Sure if you do thatâs great, but if you donât? I travel around 20km per day and it exhausts me I canât imagine how much more difficult it will be to commute double that, everyday, the so called riding experience will only make you tired and sore and youâll come to surely hate it given so much traffic in metropolitan cities.
- you want a great vehicle with fine details and amazing features. Sure 450x is a great scooter but the pricing hurts for people who really want an ev but canât afford it. 450 has way better value for money in this but unfortunately itâs going to be discontinued.
The reasons you give here basically mean:
If you are rich enough buy it, if you travel more than 40km, buy it.
The masses will turn away from electric vehicles because of such thinking and will be driven to buy ice scooters.
Whatâs the point of it?
Again you compared ather to apple, a vehicle company to a phone company. Did you forget about tesla? And how they have had their success? If anything ather should be trying like tesla because both are ev companies. Tesla released the expensive model s in 2012 first, That was done to prove a point, Ev can really compete with ice cars it canât be taken lightly anymore years later, they released the model 3 which was cheaper more âaffordableâ and was a mass production model, this propelled tesla into becoming a world leader for EVs, proving that EVs are indeed affordable and an average man can buy it like any other ice car. What ather has done here is opposite like releasing model 3 before model s and now discontinuing model 3. Itâs really sad how ather missed the point completely here, I really hope they reconsider and make changes to the pricing.
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Underpriced? Maybe a little⌠But massively? Definitely not⌠How are other manufacturers releasing similar spec scooters at the same price range? 450 has better performance + ather grid(additional cost), chetak has better range, iqube is very similar to 450âŚslightly lesser in performance. But all 3 have a price range around 1L to 1.25L.
What more the fame 2 subsidy also helped bring the price of 450 down.
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