[Aditya]

Mod Note: Thread closed. Please continue the discussion on our S340 unveil report.

Bangalore-based start-up Ather Energy, is currently designing a smart electric two-wheeler. The company has received funding of US $12 million (Rs 75.33 crore) from Tiger Global, a global investment firm. This is the second round of funding the company is receiving.

The funds will be used for development, testing, production and the launch of the Ather S340, the company's first electric two-wheeler.



The Ather-S340 is said to have been designed by Ather from ground-up and will be the first electric scooter to be completely designed & manufactured in India. It powered by lithium-Ion battery pack, featuring a digital touchscreen dashboard, has a light-weight aluminium chassis and offers a top speed of 75 kmph. Some of the features in the dashboard will enable users to create personalized profiles, choose riding modes and set other ride preferences. The S340 is a connected vehicle, which means that all vehicle data is constantly logged and monitored, enabling on-board diagnostics and issuing notifications for any maintenance.

Ather is currently at an advanced stage of integration on the vehicle platform and testing of the functional prototype. Test rides are scheduled for October this year and the Ather-S340 is planned for launch in Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi by early 2016.

Ather's first round of funding came in late 2014 from Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, founders of Flipkart, and Raju Venkatraman of Medall Healthcare. The company had then received US $1 million, which provided the initial impetus for its growth plans.

[srishiva]

Very good initiative. Hopefully they will become the Tesla of 2 wheelers in India Looking at the bike though the battery pack is placed on the foot board and not sure how it fares on our flooded roads.

[Tushar]

I like how smaller organizations like Ather and Tork India are taking up the task of bringing electric vehicles to the mainstream or are working on EV tech. These were the same guys who received an investment from Flipkart and Aerospike and I'm glad to see more corporate interest coming their way. Since they're planning a launch next year, the investment's timing is great!

One of the biggest issues EVs/Hybrids face in India is the fact that the primary components for the technology have to be imported, but don't get much in terms of duty relief. Good thing Ather's making everything right here.

Makes me wonder, if small companies like Ather are taking the dive, what's stopping mass manufacturers from working on a development cell of their own?

[Rajeevraj]

I had seriously considered buying an electric scooter few years back. There is a company Ampere who had some decent models (Just checked, looks like they still exist and have some models-Atleast as per website http://www.ampvl.com/)

Unfortunately the price was the first thing that turned me off. The cost was in the 40 K range which was very close to a 100/125 cc regular scooter. In addition most of the basic models could go at a max speed of 25kmph which made it unviable on main roads.

Good thing was they did not need a license.

TVS Scooty also had an electric version. I think there is a review on this forum itself. I think they could have easily invested more time and money to come up with a mass market alternative

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Makes me wonder, if small companies like Ather are taking the dive, what's stopping mass manufacturers from working on a development cell of their own?

I too wonder about the same. I had seen electric two wheelers on Hero website but never saw Hero asserting this product in the market.

While looking for a two wheeler for my daughter after passing std X, I had searched for electric bikes on Team-BHP. The reviews turned me away from these bikes because of the following limitations

1. Speed
2. Ability to climb gradient, especially with a pillion
3. Battery replacement cost + charging cost was not very attractive compared to petrol cost

Maybe, these limitations are turning the mass manufacturers away from this product. With Lithium Ion battery, let us see how much is the gap between the conventional petrol scooter and electric scooter in respect of the performance, convenience and the total cost of ownership.

Electric bikes do not need registration and license. So, it is easier to sell online. Is this the reason why flipcart owner took interest to finance the development?

[sreeharipv]

Electrics are the way to go at least in the two wheeler market in India. Electric cars doesn't have the market and infrastructure yet. A good crop of electric scooters will be a good starting point to create awareness and establish infrastructure.

I keep wondering why hero keeps mum about their electric scooters and why no biggies come up with compelling options?

Btw, electric bikes will need registration if they exceed the max power/speed cap. For example, most of the 1 kW scooters need registration whereas the 250 W ones don't.

[alpha1]

It powered by lithium-Ion battery pack, featuring a digital touchscreen dashboard, has a light-weight aluminium chassis and offers a top speed of 75 kmph. Some of the features in the dashboard will enable users to create personalized profiles, choose riding modes and set other ride preferences. The S340 is a connected vehicle, which means that all vehicle data is constantly logged and monitored, enabling on-board diagnostics and issuing notifications for any maintenance.

This is all so lovely, juicy and tasty, I really can't wait for this to hit the markets!
But they have not indicated their price ballpark (they must have an aim!)

The best thing about an electric will be power available on the tap. Electric motor does not have to wait to rev till redline to produce peak power.Which means more power available right at the start. Therefore better performance, better pulling ability, gradient climbing, better speed.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Electric motor does not have to wait to rev till redline to produce peak power.Which means more power available right at the start.

Peak torque at 0 rpm, not peak power. Related thread.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by GTO

Peak torque at 0 rpm, not peak power. Related thread.

Yes of course, you are right, peak torque at 0 rpm will provide a horse/bull like pulling strength and that is a big strength of electric motors (no gears required to increase torque, no stall at starting, ideally no requirement of a clutch).

However, I did make a conscious choice of words by using power ;-). Peak power translates to peak ground speed. And in a combustion engine, you need to hit the pedal to the metal to get peak power out (at red line).
But not required in an electric motor, where your motor will always lead you to peak power regime on its own (because the torque at lower rpm is always higher)!

Motor:


Engine:




But on a very personal note, I have seen that the best thrilling experience comes from rising torque vs RPM curve. That means that torque keeps increasing with increasing RPM. Check it out all sports car engine will always follow this rule. (The Humble old honda city VTEC is a good example). Of course that leads to frequent gear shifts in a city's traffic. (in other words the power delivery is increasing non linearly)

Flat torque curve (= linear rise in power) gives a predictable rush (actually the effect wears off with more pressing of the accelerator pedal), and drooping torque curve may turn out to be quite boring except for the initial rush.

[NPV]

Ather's manufacturing unit will be coming up in Whitefield, Bangalore.
Source:News Article in City Express (Indian Express), Bangalore 4 Aug 2015 - Link

[volkman10]

The S340 is the first product from the Ather stable. With an intuitive dashboard, a robust in-house designed battery pack and a host of other unique features, the S340 is set to be the first smart scooter in the country. S340 represents:
•S stands for scooter series
•3 is the kW motor
•40 is the amp-hour battery pack

The S340 will be the first two wheeler in India to have a touchscreen dashboard with 24×7* connectivity based on a Linux Operating System. The dashboard offers a multitude of features including on-board navigation and mobile syncing ability.

http://www.shifting-gears.com/2016/0...r-coming-soon/

[N.r.K]

With most scooters being used for local city/grocery runs, I guess scooters are the most logical vehicles to first go electric till the range and the speed of charging issues are sorted.

But most electric scooters that I've seen so far have been very badly underpowered, and very flimsy build quality. I hope this company bucks the trend and manage to make riding electric vehicles trendy! Our cities could do with a little less emisssion!

[virgopal]

SURGE 2016 : Electric Scooter Manufacturer Ather To Launch Its Electric Scooter Today
So we are reporting live from SURGE Bangalore fellas and the city is playing host to a literal Kumbha of startups and businesses, here to attend the Surge Conference. And folks, putting the d in disruptive is Bengaluru-based startup Ather Energy, which will be launching their new scooter, the S340, today itself.


Being touted as the country’s first smart scooter, the Ather Energy Scooter Holds the potential to change the way we travel. Powered by a Lithium-ion battery that can be juiced up pretty quickly, the Scooter is also equipped with a touchscreen dashboard that can offer on-board navigation. Sweeeettt!

What’s more, the Scooter can be synced with your mobile device and also has the ability to offer personalized driver profiles.

The company behind the electric ride, Ather Energy, is a graduate of the IIT Madras incubator and has received the backing of some notable folks, including Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal and the Technology Development Board of the Indian Government.

For folks in Bangalore, you can hear about it from the horse’s mouth at the Manpho Convention SURGE Marketing Stage talk scheduled for 11.10 AM, today. For those who are unable to make their way to the event, chill out at home as we bring you this, and everything else of note, that is taking place, here at Surge 2016.
http://thetechportal.in/2016/02/23/s...scooter-today/

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by Tushar

Makes me wonder, if small companies like Ather are taking the dive, what's stopping mass manufacturers from working on a development cell of their own?

Quite puzzling? When we reach a day, when all the petrol bikes can be replaced by equivalent electric bikes, think about the level of change the OEMs must be committed to make in this regard.
Their core competence of designing and manufacturing petrol / diesel engines will no longer help here. Such business units will perish. OEMs can no longer run the business the same way, as they may not require about half of their parts suppliers. (As an effect all these businesses will die, if they do not reinvent themselves and manufacture something relevant).
The OEMs have to let go of all their expertise in manufacturing petrol bikes, meaning shutting down of units and layoffs. If they are not an established EV player when such things happen, the whole company may not be relevant to the times. Not something any manufacturer will be willing to bet their future on, right?
No wonder, OEMs involve in electric bikes half heartedly or just for name-sake, with no marketing support to really sell these vehicles on a large scale. If you give only reasons to see disadvantages in the first place (pathetic designs, useless top-speeds, and terrible battery life coupled with the fear of keeping the bike unused for the rest of the life due to the lack of charging infrastructure), then who would consider them an alternative to an already accomplished petrol bikes, which tick all the boxes?
Sometimes, I am doubtful about the real intention of such OEMs about EVs - whether promote them, or to prove them as useless against conventional vehicles.

[Rajeevraj]

Just Launched. Will be available later this year in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune with pre-bookings beginning in Q2. Looks very impressive. Especially charge times and top speed. Connected Touch display, disc brakes, LED lamps all look good. Wonder how much it will cost.

Source: Rushlane