Internal Updates

tarun · January 29, 2020, 12:24pm

Hi folks,

We unveiled the Ather 450X yesterday to great reviews. Many of our community members could join the unveil and made it special for us.

I believe strongly in our community and we listen closely to your feedback. Whether it’s the warp mode, or extra range, or faster charging, or dark mode, or Bluetooth or 4G LTE - honestly a ton of it is your input that led to their introduction with the Ather 450X.

But beyond the product, this time we had a big announcement around pricing. It’s a first in the industry and which is why I spent several minutes highlighting why we came up with it. We decided to introduce a whole new way to own an electric scooter starting at 99k, with additional subscription packs. We have seen many prospective EV buyers worry about battery degradation and we want to remove that as a concern for our customers.

The new subscription plans allow us to go beyond a typical battery warranty, with a new concept of lifetime warranty on the battery pack all while keeping higher performance commitments from our side. Subscription pricing includes recurring costs like data charges, public charging and new features through OTAs. That means that if your battery health ever goes BELOW 80%, we will just replace it - the biggest worry with Electric vehicles is just gone. Not only that, we have also kept options open to exit the subscription, buy the vehicle upfront, snooze subscriptions when you are on vacation, lease the vehicle, get an EMI on it etc etc.

Clearly we confused some of you

I apologize, but in retrospect we should have done a better job explaining the concept of subscriptions and its many benefits. I have personally gone through almost all the posts since launch yesterday and I understand that many of you are unclear about pricing, duration, what’s included and what’s not, benefits etc.

With Ather 450X, our prices did go up and we could have spent more time explaining that to at least our community better. I wasn’t kidding when I said that the community is our best creation till date and one we are the most proud of. And whether you buy the Ather 450X or not, we would want to make sure that you continue believing in Ather and a clearer communication remains step 1 towards it.

Towards that, over the next couple of weeks we are planning a series of meetups, open house events, online AMAs etc with our community members and owners to make sure that we can answer all your questions. We will also be soon uploading a detailed blog post explaining the pricing, the subscription and the Ather 450X in more detail.

Tarun

abhishek.balaji · January 29, 2020, 2:00pm

More about Ather 450X. Pricing & scaling up.

The long-awaited Ather 450X unveil is done. You have seen the live stream, the news, checked it out on the website. And we’re glad that you have shared your views on the forum. Majority of them are on pricing and subscription

There’s only so much that we could explain in the limited time of the press launch. And, rather than answering all your queries through the Forum, we’d love to discuss it in person, in an Open House.

We would love to explain the pricing model in-depth, how it plays out for Ather and most importantly hear your point of view on this.

We look forward to this discussion.

Open House (for Bengaluru Owners and 450X Pre-Orders)

When: Saturday, 1st Feb ‘20 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: IBC Knowledge Park, D block

Ask Us Anything - Online meet-up (for everyone)

Alternatively, we are also hosting an online meet. You could join us there as well.

If you’re an owner and/or have pre-ordered the 450X, check your inbox tonight for a link to RSVP for the event and the AMA.

abhishek.balaji · February 6, 2020, 10:51am

Hey @everyone,

A lot of you have posed questions and feedback over the last week on pricing, subscriptions and the 450X Plus and Pro.

We missed out explaining at the launch on why we increased prices on our products. Here’s @tarun’s take on this:

abhishek.balaji · February 11, 2020, 9:30am

Chennai, have questions on the Ather 450X? Let’s meet.

Hey @Chennai,

We are coming down to take up all your questions around the product, explain the pricing model in depth and how it plays out for Ather, and most importantly we want to hear your point of view.

Open House

When: Sunday, 16th Feb ‘20 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: Ather Space, Nungambakkam

RSVP: https://ather-energy.typeform.com/to/VH4z1f

Also get a chance to check out the 450X up close!

abhishek.balaji · February 12, 2020, 11:03am

More friends, more perks.

Introducing the Ather Referral plan

Hey @450X-Pre-Orders,

We’ve got several requests from you folks and @Ather_Owner, to start a referral program. We’ve initiated one for the 450X.

How does this work?

Share your referral code (sent over email) with your friends
Your friend applies the code on pre-ordering
Both you and your friends get rewarded with Ather credits and other goodies, including Ather merchandise

What are the perks?

1st referral — A t-shirt from our merchandise series & Ather credits worth ₹1,500 when your friend completes the purchase

2nd referral — Ather credits worth ₹1,500 when your friend completes the purchase

3rd referral — Bluetooth wireless earphones from a premium brand & Ather credits worth ₹2,500 when your friend completes the purchase

4th referral — Ather credits worth ₹2,500 when your friend completes the purchase

5th referral — A cool Ather merchandise to complement your Ather scooter & Ather credits worth ₹3,000 when your friend completes the purchase

6th onwards— Ather credits worth ₹3,000 when your friend completes the purchase

What do your friends get?

On pre-order — Gets ₹500 OFF on the pre-order amount of ₹2,500
On purchase — Gets Ather credits worth ₹1,000

For more details on how this works, check out this blog post:

abhishek.balaji · February 20, 2020, 10:59am

Four more cities made it to the list!

Hey folks!

We have some exciting news about 450X availability in different cities. We’re confirming Kochi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata as the next band of confirmed cities. This is in addition to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Chennai, and Bangalore.

What does this mean?

If you’re from one of the four cities confirmed in this list, you’ll see:

Deliveries starting in 2020 along with the other cities.
Before deliveries begin, you’ll spot Ather Grid, our fast-charging network coming up in your city, along with an experience center!

Join your city group for discussions.

Head over to https://www.atherenergy.com/ if you haven’t pre-ordered yet, or register interest for a test ride when we’re in your city!

abhishek.balaji · February 21, 2020, 4:54pm

Meet the Ather 450 Plus and 450X

Hey everyone,

Many of you have shared feedback over the last few weeks on the forum and at the Open Houses we’ve organised in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. A bunch of you expressed that the 450X Plus was just the 450 with a few improvements and you’re right. Hence, to reiterate the differences between the two variants, we’re renaming the 450X Plus to 450 Plus, and the 450X Pro becomes the 450X.

Taking this opportunity, we’ve reworked how the pricing is displayed and addressed the confusion in the ownership of the 450 Plus and 450X.

Check out https://atherenergy.com

abhishek.balaji · March 4, 2020, 8:56am

Re-opening Ather 450X Collector’s Edition pre-orders.

Hey @450X-PO

Last month we conducted events like Open House across 5 cities and ‘Ask Us Anything’ sessions on the Ather Forum to clarify the Ather 450X pricing. Post that a lot of you who cancelled the Ather 450X Collector’s Edition have been requesting us to give an option to own it back.

Pre-orders for the Ather 450X Collector’s Edition were closed on 28th Jan ‘20. But, we’ve reopened it only for the ones who had cancelled it.

8th March, 2020

Last day to own the Ather 450X Collector’s Edition + one year free scheduled servicing.

So, why wait? Pre-order now with the same email and we will reserve the Collector’s Edition for you.

abhishek.balaji · March 6, 2020, 1:02pm

Our payment partner’s services have been affected due to RBI’s imposition on YES Bank. We are working with our partner to restore this option at the earliest. Meanwhile, if your payment window is open:

The NEFT payment option would not work, and hence if you’ve already added the beneficiary details, please hold off on making the payment until further notice.
Other payment options such as Netbanking, Credit/Debit cards are functional.
We’re enabling UPI based payments soon, and you can use this option once it is up.We regret the inconvenience caused.

abhishek.balaji · March 6, 2020, 3:14pm

Hey folks,

We had a brief pause in the invoicing of vehicles last week, to allow for the implementation of a change in the production process at our factory. We expect the invoicing to resume from 8th or 9th March.

Once the invoicing is done for your vehicle, you can expect the delivery in about 2 weeks. We’ll keep you posted over email on the status of your delivery at every stage post invoicing.

We apologise for the delay and are working at full speed to make sure there are no more delays in delivering your 450.

abhishek.balaji · March 10, 2020, 8:55am

Hey folks,

“Pay by NEFT” is back up. You can go ahead and complete the payment using NEFT. Do note that the earlier account details shared on your dashboard are no longer valid. If you’ve added a beneficiary with the earlier details, please refrain from sending any money to that account. You’ll see the account details updated on the dashboard.

Here are 5 simple steps to complete your payment:

Visit your “Order Review” page
Click on “Pay with NEFT”
Note down the account name, number, IFSC and Account type
Add a new beneficiary in your internet banking account with these details
Transfer the amount to this account

If you require any assistance in making the payment or have queries, reach out to our customer support team.

abhishek.balaji · March 17, 2020, 1:58pm

As a precautionary measure to prevent spread of COVID-19, Ather Space in Chennai and Bengaluru will remain closed for test rides and enquiries until 31st March 2020. However, vehicle deliveries will continue to happen and Ather Grid points at our experience centers will be accessible.

Necessary precautionary measures will be undertaken by our experience center staff during deliveries. For those visiting for the delivery of your scooter, please note that the shutters may be kept only half-open but there will be people to assist you.

We are scaling down service operations to avoid exposure. Periodic servicing & any major concerns that are hindering the ride will be supported. If you have any minor concerns, do hold off on placing a service request until the situation stabilises.

We are constantly reviewing the situation and any updates further to this shall be communicated.

Take care, and remember to stay safe and wash your hands.

abhishek.balaji · March 19, 2020, 12:18pm

A new step in the registration process - One-time password

Since Monday this week, a new step has been introduced on ‘Vahan’ - the portal for handling vehicle registrations at RTOs.

When the details are entered on the portal for registration, a one-time password (OTP) gets triggered to the registered mobile number. This OTP is essential to complete the submission and proceed further with the registration process.

This is what the SMS will read like

999999: OTP for Owner Mobile-No Verification at the time of New Registration. Valid for one-time use. Please share with concerned RTO/Dealer staff only.

Since we are managing the process for you, we will give you a call from 080-46808088 to get this OTP from you. Do share the OTP only over the call.

For any assistance, please feel free to contact us on +917676600900.

abhishek.balaji · March 23, 2020, 4:15pm

Hey folks,

To contain the spread of COVID-19, the central and state governments have imposed a lockdown in Chennai and Bengaluru until 31st March 2020. The government has mandated pausing all non-essential services during this time.

If you have a delivery scheduled in the next few days:

In Chennai, all vehicle deliveries scheduled Wednesday and later are being postponed till further notice. The deliveries planned for tomorrow will happen as per schedule.
In Bengaluru, all vehicle deliveries are postponed till further notice.

We will be unable to meet the committed delivery dates due to these extraordinary circumstances.

For owners, our service operations will be halted until further notice.

What this means for you

Periodic servicing (due every 5000 km) and other service requests will resume from 1st April (or later).
Roadside assistance will not be suspended. However, the service response time may be affected due to the limited availability of resources for the recovery of your scooter.

Best practices to follow for the scooter’s upkeep during a lockdown

Ensure that your scooter’s charge level doesn’t reach 0. Charge every few days.
Shutdown is recommended when SOC is less than 50%.
If your vehicle is due for periodic servicing, keep a check on the brake pads for wearing and avoid usage in case the pads appear worn out.

abhishek.balaji · April 23, 2020, 11:55am

A quick update on the lockdown effect on us

Hey @everyone,

All our on-ground operations like production, service, test rides etc. continue to be on hold across all cities. However design, R&D, software development & testing and planning functions continue to WFH. In parallel, processes are being laid out for all our on-ground activities, when the lockdown gets lifted.

We’ll share more details on the timelines on opening of Ather Space in Bengaluru, Chennai & Hyderabad; resuming service operations, Ather 450X test rides, production and delivery timelines as we are able to assess the scenario and have clarity for each of them.

abhishek.balaji · April 23, 2020, 11:56am

A UV appliance to sanitize everyday things

We’ve been looking at working with organizations that are developing innovative products to fight COVID-19. One of them, Log9 Materials, a Bengaluru based startup has recently launched the Corona Oven, an appliance to sanitize everyday objects using UV lamps. It can be used by healthcare workers to sanitize masks and PPEs. At home it can be used for groceries, food deliveries amongst other things. If you’d like to purchase this for your home, Log9 Materials has offered a discount for the Ather community. Share this among your networks so it can be useful for a friend, a society or a neighborhood clinic.

Website

Discount code: AHTLGMT5

Check out a demo of the product below:

If you have any queries, you can reach out to them directly at:

coronaoven@log9materials.com

+91-8892647075