Internal updates - Ather 450X & 450 Plus

abhishek.balaji · April 28, 2021, 7:30am

The COVID update

Hey folks,

All of us are aware of the current situation in the country, and going through our own personal battles during this time. As many cities go into lockdown, we’re sharing an update on what you can expect for the next few weeks:

Servicing and Deliveries

Since restrictions are being imposed across cities, deliveries and servicing is affected. If you have a delivery scheduled in the next few days, our team will reach out to you regarding the next steps, if not already.

Servicing and Road-Side assistance would be available in a limited capacity, depending on local conditions.

To ensure you, and our staff are safe, timelines for vehicle servicing might take longer than usual. We urge you to avoid any non-essential servicing, and hold off till the situation eases up a bit.

Subscriptions

We understand that your usage of the scooter and hence the Ather Service and Connect packs would drastically reduce. If you’re currently subscribed to any of the plans or are on a grace period, (Ather Service/Connect, Lite/Pro) we’ll be extending your subscription by a month.

You’ll see this reflected in your subscription status directly on app.atherenergy.com over the next few weeks.

The Ather Community

During these difficult times, electric vehicles and tech will probably not be on anyone’s mind. As an organisation we’re doing our best to assist those who are volunteering their time to help people in need.

At the same time, if you’re someone who needs help or if you can offer your help, do post in the community, and we’ll do our best to help you out.

We urge everyone to stay at home, and take sufficient precautions, to ensure we beat this wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

abhishek.balaji · May 28, 2021, 12:46pm

Update on the referral program

Hey folks,

The Ather Referral Program ends on 16 June '21. This means your code will expire on this day and you’ll not be able to gain any new referral credits.

Any unlocked credits in your Ather account will be intact and you’d be able to use them to purchase and renew subscription packs as and when you wish.

If you have referred a few folks, and they haven’t purchased yet (your credits are locked), they’ll have two weeks to complete their payment, and get the referral credits.

For the cities that we haven’t launched in yet, you’ll be able to unlock them when we launch in your city.

abhishek.balaji · June 3, 2021, 2:13pm

Hey Ather Owners,

The warranty for the Portable charger is now 3 years. This applies to those who have already purchased the charger as well. A warranty review of the portable charger was in the works internally, and we’re glad to share the news officially with all of you.

abhishek.balaji · June 16, 2021, 4:48am

10 more days to unlock those referral credits

Hey folks,

We’re partially extending the referral program till 26 June. We had paused invoicing over the last few days due to the FAME incentive announcement, hence you’ll now have 10 more days to either complete your payment or convince your referee to complete theirs, to unlock the credits in your account.

Do note, referral codes can be used for new bookings only till 16 June. If you’re referring someone or have been referred, do ensure the booking is made before 16 June, to be eligible for referral benefits.

abhishek.balaji · July 2, 2021, 2:24pm

On deliveries in Bengaluru

Hey folks,

Quite a few of you have made payments in Bengaluru during the lockdown. However, as you might be aware, vehicle deliveries were paused due to Govt. directives. Additionally, revised FAME II incentives were introduced recently which impacts all scooters that have not been registered yet. We’re clarifying the process and what to expect over the next few days:

This impacts all those whose VAHAN registration has not yet been initiated.
Since the FAME subsidy was revised, we are reissuing invoices to ensure eligible folks will be able to avail the improved incentives. There are a few hundred of you who are affected, and we’re trying to work this out as fast as possible.
Your insurance policy and the premium would change too, to reflect the revised invoice amount. To ensure minimum inconvenience to you, we’ve been working directly with the insurance partners to re-issue the policies, but understandably the systems around insurance and registration have been bottle-necked in the past couple of weeks.

You’ll get a call over the next few days to update you on the status of your order and discuss the next steps.

abhishek.balaji · July 19, 2021, 6:59am

Rains in your city? Here are some tips for keeping your Ather safe

Hey folks

There are heavy rains in many cities right now, along with predictions of the rains intensifying over the next few days. Here are some precautions you can take to ensure you Ather scooter isn’t affected by the cyclone:

Disconnect and turn the charger off, especially if your charger is installed in an open space
Ensure you park your scooter on higher ground and under a covered space if possible. Avoid parking on inclines.
If you’re parking it outside, make sure the scooter is parked on firm ground. Avoid parking on loose soil, since heavy winds are expected.
In case of any unfortunate flooding in an area, try to ensure the water doesn’t go above the floorboard if it is safe to do so.
If the water level is above the floorboard, do not turn on the scooter or operate it. Wait for it to completely dry and reach out to the service team for an inspection before riding it.

abhishek.balaji · August 10, 2021, 5:29am

Opening up our proprietary fast-charging connector for other OEMs to drive faster adoption of EVs

Hey folks!

Ather has been at the forefront of enabling fast charging in EV 2 wheelers for the last few years. Today, there is no fast charging/connector standard in the Indian market that is suitable for 2 wheeler use. We strongly believe that the future of mobility in the electric 2 wheeler space would be built on fast charging for non-commercial use cases, rather than battery swapping.

Hence we developed a proprietary charging and connector standard, based on the IEC6219601 with the following requirements:

A single connector for fast public charging (DC) and EVSE charging with an onboard charger (AC), for both slow and fast charging.
CAN 2.0 communication, Control pilot and Proximity Pilot to establish communication between the scooter and the charger, for a seamless and safe experience while fast charging.
Small size for use in light EVs
Low cost enabling usage in economy vehicles

This standard & connector is currently in use across 200+ Ather Grid points in India and has been rigorously tested in various conditions across India.

We’re glad to see the larger auto industry rally around fast charging, and want to enable other OEMs to leverage the charging standards and subsequently the wide Ather Grid network across India. Ultimately, this would help tackle range anxiety and bring interoperability in fast charging standards in India for light EVs, leading to more fast charging options across the country.

And towards helping accelerate faster transition to electric, we’re opening up our State-of-the-Art Proprietary Patented Connector to other OEMs who are looking to collaborate on fast charging, to avoid multiple standards and to bring in interoperability in the light EV fast-charging space. Any OEM who leverages the connector and the standard would be able to use Ather Grid locations, and Ather scooters can be charged at charging networks which integrate the standard. As more OEMs integrate these standards, the entire ecosystem benefits, fast-tracking EV adoption in India.

abhishek.balaji · August 11, 2021, 5:17am

Update on Deliveries in Maharashtra

The Govt. of Maharashtra had announced a revised EV policy with increased incentives on July 13. While the policy has been announced, the rollout of operational guidelines still hasn’t happened which includes important factors such as what date the new policy comes into effect. Without these guidelines coming in, we can’t pass on the incentives to you.

We are in regular communication with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, to push for a speedy resolution and operational roll-out.

If you have a pending delivery, here’s what you can do:

Hold on to the excitement a little longer to take advantage of the new incentives
You can buy it off right now without the additional subsidy - this also means you won’t be able to claim it retroactively.

If you have further questions, do reach out to the Ather Space in your city.

abhishek.balaji · August 13, 2021, 12:21pm

Recently, a few fake websites have come up using our name and trademarks to mislead customers and retail partners. We have already initiated legal proceedings against them with the relevant authorities. The only official website for the company is www.atherenergy.com. If you have paid money to these fraudulent websites for booking a scooter or for a retail partnership, we suggest you to contact your local police station immediately. They will assist you with next steps.

abhishek.balaji · August 20, 2021, 11:25am

Update: the issue is now resolved, and network is back up.

Hey folks,

Our network provider has reported technical issues since today morning. We’re working with them to get this resolved on priority. This might affect connected features and Ather Grid status for those scooters on 4G.

We’ll share an update when the network is back up.

abhishek.balaji · August 21, 2021, 3:19pm

Hey folks,

Sharing an update on the 4G upgrade process for Ather 450s on road. A few owners who’ve got the 4G module retrofitted have reported some issues with the network connectivity, while we’re investigating the issue and resolving it, we’ll be pausing the 4G upgrades for some time.

We’ll be reaching out to those who’ve booked slots already

abhishek.balaji · September 9, 2021, 8:59am

Introducing Ather Labs

Hey folks,

Today, we’re launching Ather Labs, a new feature in the latest version of the Ather App (5.0.0).

What is Ather Labs?

Ather Labs is a space on the mobile app for you to try out our new ideas, and share your feedback early in the process of development. Based on your feedback, a feature could become a permanent addition, or can be changed/removed.

Ather Labs will be available for those subscribed to the Ather Connect Pro plan. Using the Ather Labs widget on the Ather app home screen, you can choose the features you want to enable for trial. You can choose to disable a feature anytime as well.

Savings Tracker

The debut feature on Ather Labs is something a lot of you would be excited to experiment with - Savings Tracker. As owners, we’re constantly calculating fuel saved and your contribution towards reducing CO2 emissions (even if it is for bragging rights on social media). The Savings Tracker option will give an overview of how much money you’ve saved, how many liters of petrol you’ve avoided, and how your riding has affected CO2 emissions. Of course, these numbers may not be 100% accurate (with the way petrol is increasing daily, and the variance across the same city), but it is accurate enough to help you meet your savings goals. In addition, you’ll be able to set a weekly goal of riding in terms of distance and track your progress towards those goals.

For those on iOS opt in to the testflight, and download the latest version of the app.

Update: Android App is live now

For those on Android, we’ve pushed the update to the Google Play Store and should show up as an update in a few hours. You can then head to the app page to update your Ather App to the latest version.

abhishek.balaji · September 9, 2021, 12:19pm

Hey folks,

Charging at Apartment Complexes when you don’t have a dedicated parking space has been a challenge for many enthusiasts who want to switch to an EV. We’ve been working with Apartment Complexes and communities on this, and are excited to announce the first partnership with Ecosoch, to install common charging stations at Salarpuria Greenage for Ather scooters owned by residents there.

We’re super glad to see more Apartment complexes and communities embrace the idea of EVs and find solutions to enable faster EV adoption. If you/your apartment complex is interested in exploring solutions similar to this, you can reach out at athergrid@atherenergy.com, and our team will get back on possible solutions.