Ather Energy : S340 Electric Scooter update

Team Ather Energy

After 4 years, 55 prototypes, 50,000 km in on-road testing and over a million man hours, the S340 is finally ready!
And this one is not a render or a concept for a show. It’s rolling off an actual production line as we speak.

The last time we emailed you about timelines was in Jan 2017. That’s when we explained how we underestimated the challenges of validation and getting from a prototype to a production-worthy piece. For us 2017 has been about fixing those pieces for the product: from working with our supplier partners and getting the process quality right to stabilizing our internal systems.

And it has reflected in the S340. Things we had in mind while unveiling the proto but the vehicle did not have back then - a charging port, on-board charger, storage space, not sucky UI, waterproof dashboard, waterproof battery, waterproof charger, tooled up components, under seat light, regenerative braking, service scheduling, EMI protection, charging pod, motor cooling, CBS, Over-the-Air Updates, diagnostic alerts, parking assist, push navigation, charging locations tracking...it’s a pretty long list and a pretty important one to build out. 

Early this year we finally started receiving pre-production components from our 100+ suppliers and vendors and our assembly line came up in Whitefield, Bengaluru. Vehicle trial production is running right now and we are planning to commence commercial production in July. 

For us the S340 has never been only about the vehicle, but it is about your complete ownership experience - from purchase to after sales. When you have enough computing power baked into your design from the get-go, then how you track and schedule servicing, how and when you recharge, your reason to purchase itself - they all change. We have worked hard to ensure that we deliver on that superior ownership experience with the very first vehicle that we put on the road. Hence, not just your riding experience but your charging experience matters to us, your purchase experience matter to us, the servicing experience matters to us. 

Over the coming months a couple of things are going to happen, so expect more announcements from us:

1. In May - our charging infrastructure is going live in Bengaluru. We are keeping it under wraps. However, installations have already commenced in Bengaluru. And yep, these stations will have fast charging capability installed from day 1.
2. In June - we will open up the pre-order window for the S340 for our Bengaluru customers. Around this time, we will also open our first Experience Center at Indiranagar in Bengaluru. You will be able to take test rides here and spend time with our teams.
3. All throughout - we will be getting more and more sentimental as this baby starts walking. 

Soon after deliveries commence in Bengaluru, we will kick-start our plans to launch in other cities. We will announce our plans to launch in other cities later this year.

Finally, the S340 is a personification of years of work by a team that believes that it can build great experiences right here in India. That customers will pay for a superior product even if it’s built without a legacy. That engineering and product comes first. That it’s important to build it right - Move Fast and Break Things. 

We hope you love it. 

Exciting times ahead! 
Tarun 
tarun.m@atherenergy.com