Last Updated on June 28, 2022 by Anu Joy
Ather, an Indian EV manufacturer, is reportedly working on refreshed versions of its popular 450X and 450 Plus electric scooters. Competition is heating up in the EV space and Ather is looking forward to providing an improved driving range and more features to stay relevant in the market. A leaked ARAI (Automotive Research Institute of India) document reveals the changes in the upcoming scooters. Although incremental on paper, the changes could make the scooter more practical in real life.
Let’s have a look at all the changes expected below.
2022 Ather 450X, 450 Plus Facelift: Changes
Driving range matters the most to owners and prospective buyers of electric vehicles. The more the claimed range, the more customers get attracted to the product. Ather’s competitors offer a better driving range in comparison. To fend off the challenge presented by the likes of Ola, Okinawa, TVS, and others, Ather will bring out its 2022 versions of its scooters with higher driving range. The facelifted 450X and 450 Plus are set to pack in larger battery packs.
The current Ather 450X comes with a 2.9kWh battery pack, which will be replaced by a 3.66kWh battery in the upcoming vehicle. That’s a massive, over 25 percent increase in the battery capacity. The 450X and the 450 Plus currently come with a claimed range of 100km and 116km respectively. The leaked ARAI document reveals that the 2022 Ather electric scooters will boast of up to 146km of maximum driving range.
They will come with up to five riding modes, namely Warp Mode, Sport Mode, Ride Mode, Smart Eco and the regular Eco Mode. The power-restricted version will not get the most powerful Warp mode, which puts out 6.4kW of maximum power. This is higher than the power output of 6kW of the current Ather 450X on sale.
That’s not all, the dimensions of the scooters have also changed. They will be 25mm longer, 11mm taller, and will come with a 9mm longer wheelbase. While most of it seems to have been done to accommodate the larger battery pack, we wish they come with revised exteriors. The current Ather scooters look too compact when compared to the Ola S1/S1 Pro, TVS iQube, or the Bajaj Chetak EV. Hope they add some muscle and a couple of nifty features to make them more desirable. Also, it would be interesting to see how Ather prices these facelifted scooters, as they are already pricier than the competition in their current avatars.
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