Internal updates - Ather 450X & 450 Plus

And for those in @Bengaluru

Locations that are live:-

  • Sangeetha Mobiles, Chandra Layout
  • Smarttron Automations, HSR Layout

Installed and will go live in the next few days:-

  • 1522, JP Nagar

Ather Grid locations that’ll be installed in the next couple of weeks:

  • Little Italy, Sarjapur Road
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Hey @450X-Owner,

We’re rolling out an OTA update for the Ather 450X and 450 Plus for early access. This release contains a few new features and improvements.

What’s changed in this version:

  • Series 1 UI on the dashboard for those with a Series 1 Ather 450X
  • A new splash screen for Ather 450 Plus owners

Bug fixes and improvements:

  • Improvements and fixes for navigation on the scooter, and pushing navigation from the app
  • Better syncing of docs uploaded on the app
  • Auto-brightness will dim the screen further at night to ensure a comfortable ride
  • And a few bug fixes

You can signup for the early access below:

Please note: This is an early release, where we are seeking reports of any bugs or issues. The stable version will be released to everyone once the beta duration is complete. If you spot any bugs in this release, please report them in the topic below [Will be added once the OTA is rolled out], so fixes can be rolled out in future releases

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Hey folks,

After running at full throttle and facing a few last-minute course corrections (which our dashboards didn’t auto-reroute unfortunately), the Ather team will be going into Eco Mode (well technically Limp Mode) until 4 Jan 2021.

Permanently running at Warp Speed feels great in the short term, but can severely impact the quality and longevity of the team’s battery and health in the long run. You’ll be in good hands as our moderators will be holding the fort and will reach out to us in case of any urgent issues.

Hoping to get back to an even more excited community in 2021, without anyone secretly making plans to try and infiltrate the Hosur plant while we’re away.

Our Customer support, Experience Centers and Service teams would still be working (Don’t worry, they’re also taking off a little later) at a limited capacity, so your experience isn’t impacted too much.

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Hey @450X-Owner

The experience of our dashboard and app for the early owners of Ather 450X and Ather 450 Plus hasn’t been great.

A shift to Android, some breakdown in communication between internal tools, corner cases missed in testing – the reasons are many but it doesn’t take away the fact that this is not the experience that you paid for.

We are working on getting an OTA out in the next few weeks which brings back stability to the dashboard and the app features. Till then, to be fair to 450X consumers who are on Ather Connect Lite/Pro plans, the charges for the period from your purchase date till the OTA rollout will be waived off.

We’ll communicate the mechanism of this waiver when we begin the roll out of the OTA.

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Hey folks!

This weekend is special for everyone following Ather for a while, and for our teams as we open the Experience Center with our retail partners in Mumbai. This will be the first Experience Center outside of Chennai and Bangalore, with many more to be opened in the next few months.

The experience at Ather Space is a critical piece in the ownership process, and our Experience Centers in Chennai and Bengaluru have potential customers spending about 45 mins on average understanding the products and ecosystem. We can’t wait to start welcoming enthusiasts in Mumbai from Saturday!

Do drop by the new Experience Center in Linking Road, Bandra West between 10 AM and 6:30 PM on all days to get the Ather Experience.

PS: We’re hosting a small ceremony on Saturday, 9 January at 11 AM to mark the opening, so if you’re nearby do feel free to drop by to add to the excitement!

Ather Space, Mumbai

Plot No: 346/A, Ground Floor, Saffron Bldg, Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400052

Landmark: Opp Only Paratha Restaurant and next to colorplus showroom

Google Maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/fB8hic7rduKMSvA36

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Hey folks!

Were you one of the early supporters of the Ather 450X when we first announced the product exactly a year ago? Brave enough to pre-order without knowing anything about it? Trusted us to design a kick-ass, gorgeous Collector’s Edition?

Hopefully, the Series 1 scooter met all your expectations. But now the clock is ticking to get your hands on your Ather 450X Series 1.

For Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad:

As communicated earlier, we had to put a timeline to decide on your Series 1 order. The Series 1 benefits (including exclusive designs and one year of Service Pro free) are valid until 15 January. For payments post-Jan. 15th 2021, the series 1 benefits will expire.

If you don’t like the Ather 450X Series 1 (we can’t imagine why) and want to go for another color, and still retain the free Service Pro for a year, please ensure you complete your payment before 15 January.

For other cities announced:

Series 1 benefits would be applicable for a month from the time your full payment opens for you. The retail partner in your city will be able to help you with timelines for delivery and the payment process.

Ather 450 Owners who’ve expressed interest in upgrading to the 450X

For Ather 450 owners who’ve pre-ordered the Ather 450X and are eligible for Series 1 benefits, you’ll have to register as a seller before 15 January on the Ather Certified Pre-owned program, and we’ll hold on to your benefits while you complete the process of selling your Ather 450. We’ve sent an email with details on how to go about this.

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Hey folks!

The Ather 450 and Ather 450X have been the top two-wheelers in India in terms of the technology and features packed in! So much so that many of you have been asking if Ather is a tech or an automobile company :thinking: Being the smartest scooter on road in India, we’ll be at the largest technology showcase, CES 2021 as one of the exhibitors!

This time, CES will be entirely online with attendees and exhibitors joining in across the world! And looks like we’re the only Indian Auto OEM at CES 2021! If you’re already attending, do drop by our exhibit and say hi.

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Hey @Mumbai and @Pune,

We spoke to a few of the authorities involved with the Maharashtra State EV Policy. Here’s the guidance they provided and the steps that you can use to claim a subsidy for your purchase of the Ather 450X or 450 Plus.

On Road tax and registration fee waiver:

The Maharashtra Government has offered a 50% waiver on yearly road tax. The government is charging road tax on an annual basis in anticipation of a new EV Policy rollout soon.

  • The road tax for regular vehicles is INR 800/year. However, due to the 50% waiver, Ather owners would have to pay INR 400 per year.
  • The registration fee of INR 300 remains as is.
  • The Govt. is yet to provide clarity on what happens from the second year on. We expect this to be in line with the state’s EV policy. As we get more clarity we’ll keep you folks posted

On subsidy:

There is a webpage on the Maharashtra Government website, which isn’t working and has been confirmed by the officials. For now, the entire process is offline and is administered by the government.

Here’s the process:

  • There’s an application form that has to be filled by an Ather Owner in Maharashtra, along with a few documents post-purchase of the vehicle. Please see the list of documents below.
  • These forms have to be sent by post to “Directorate of Industries, New Administrative Building, 2nd Floor, Madam Cama Road, HutatmaRajguruChouk, Opp Manatralaya, Mumbai 400032”.
  • The processing time as clarified by the officials is around 2 months under normal circumstances.
  • Once the process is complete, the subsidy amount would be directly transferred to your bank account.

Some conditions if you’re availing subsidy:

  • The subsidy would be applicable only for one vehicle per individual
  • The vehicle cannot be sold outside of Maharashtra for a period of 5 years. The RTOs in Maharashtra would not be issuing NOCs required for transfer of sale outside of the state in the first 5 years of ownership.

Note:

The steps to claim subsidy are based on our interactions with government officials. The subsidy process and claims would be between the Government and the individual, and Ather Energy or the retail partner won’t be able to help you move along the process.

List of documents required:

  • Application form
  • Copy of Owner’s PAN / Aadhaar card
  • Vehicle invoice
  • Vehicle RC Copy
  • Copy of RTO registration certificate
  • Canceled cheque
  • Customer Undertaking (on company letterhead in case of company purchase)
  • Two Stamp Receipt: Revenue stamp along with a signature

We’re working on making these available through our retail partners as well as digital copies that you can print out without needing to visit again. Will update here once we get a link to share.

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Hey folks!

It’s been a busy time for our Ather Grid team as they’re installing new charging points in different cities, here are a few updates for @Kochi, @Pune and @Hyderabad!

Hyderabad:

Sarath City Capital Mall, Kondapur

Chai Kahani, Sainikpuri

Kochi

Centre Square Mall

Jogo Infinite

French Toast, Panampilly Nagar

FrenchToast

French Toast, Kacheripady

Pune

Subway, Aundh

Subway, Paud Road

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Hey @Hyderabad,

We’re glad to share that the Telangana Government has officially implemented the road tax waiver for the Ather 450X and Ather 450 Plus. If you were holding off for the waiver, you will now be able to own an Ather at about Rs. 7000 lower!

We have confirmation that the waiver has been implemented on-ground and will reflect when you register your scooter. We’re making appropriate changes across the website and other touchpoints to reflect this.

Now that the Telangana govt has taken concrete steps to encourage faster adoption of EVs, we hope to see many more states follow suit in the near future.

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Last week, we opened the doors to our first experience center in Gujarat, with our retail partner Kataria Group.

Our owners rode down from different parts of the city to mark the occasion and to welcome a bunch of enthusiasts into the newly opened Ather Space. Now that Ahmedabad has a new landmark, drop by if you haven’t already!

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A glimpse into the new Hosur factory :smile:

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Hey @450X-Owner,

The next patch OTA update (10.0.3) is completing testing and will be moved to early access this week. The release fixes a lot of the bugs and niggles reported on the dashboard, along with some improvements as well. Overall, this is a stability release, looking to make the dashboard experience much better.

Some key fixes:

  • Fixes recent locations not showing up
  • Reduce the volume of indicators and boot up sound
  • Fixes dashboard freezing, display turning on even when is key off and improves the performance

We’re looking to get bug reports, suggestions, and feedback on this release, so please sign up only if you’re willing to spend some time trying out the fixes and sharing your feedback.

Sign up here:

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Update on Bluetooth Features

Edit: Sign up link here: Internal updates - Ather 450X & 450 Plus

Hey @450X-Owner,

We will start rolling out a beta version of the Bluetooth Music & Calls feature to a select set of owners starting next week.

We have been testing the feature internally over the last couple of weeks. Unlike other releases, Bluetooth support on the dashboard requires some changes to the Ather App for Android, for the pairing process. This brings in many more scenarios to test for, and we want to make sure that we’ve covered the devices that you folks are using. While our testing team is taking care of that, we would also like your feedback on the features rolled out, and any corner cases that you might face.

In the coming weeks, the stable release will be rolled out to all Ather 450X owners. This will also include an update on your app. Bluetooth Music & Call feature update on the app will be available for both Android and iOS users.

In addition, we have been working on a fresh new look for the Ather mobile app. Android users will get to experience this new UI along with the Bluetooth update. A revamped UI for iOS users will be rolled out a little later.

Note:

Bluetooth features do not require you to be on any Connect subscription plans, and you’ll be able to install the update and use the features regardless of your subscription status.

Here’s a sneak peek:

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