Coronavirus Lockdown 4.0: Ather Energy Resumes Operations In Bengaluru & Chennai; 450X Deliveries Delayed

Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy has announced that the company is resuming operations in Bengaluru and Chennai after a nearly two month period. The company had temporarily suspended production and sales in line with the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the resumption is only after the government relaxed the norms for manufacturing and sales. The Bengaluru-based start-up says that the firm is taking all possible precautions including the sanitisation of the workplace, use of face masks, gloves and sanitisers. The unprecedented lockdown though has pushed the deliveries of the Ather 450X scooter that was launched earlier this year.

Also Read: Ather 450X Review: X Times The Fun
 
Speaking on restarting operations,  Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy said, “We are slowly opening up our retail stores and offices and are hoping that some semblance of normalcy will be achieved in the coming months. We have a lot of work ahead of us to expand pan-India over the coming months, and thankfully, the lockdown has not affected those timelines dramatically. We are now working on a slightly revised timeline of Q4 of 2020 to begin deliveries of the Ather 450X across India.”

Ather Experience Centres in Chennai and Bengaluru will be open for limited hours and will operate with limited hours

Ather Energy's Experience Centres in Bengaluru and Chennai have be re-opened with a restricted number of employees and customers. The centres will be open for limited hours and will operate with limited hours. That said, deliveries for the Ather 450 have begun once again in both cities and will scale up once operations begun in full scale for the company and its ancillary partners.

The lockdown has also prompted Ather to rework its ownership models and the company is increasing the financing options being made available to customers and introducing batteries on subscription. The company already offers lease plans for its scooters, in addition to the outright payment option. There's also the Ather One post purchase plan that limits cost of ownership to Rs. 700 per month.

Meanwhile, Ather has confirmed that is on track with expanding to new cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata in the near future. The company is currently retailing the 450 and the 450X. The latter is likely to be the mainstay model for the brand.

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