Bangalore based electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy has launched Grid 2.0, the next generation of its Ather Grid public EV charging infrastructure across India.
Ather Grid 2.0 builds on the company’s current Ather Grid charging network which currently has chargers in 215 locations in 21 cities across the nation. The company plans to have over 700 locations ready to charge by the end of the financial year and has already started the installation of the Ather Grid 2.0 fast charging network in the cities of Bangalore and Chennai. The company states that the new Ather Grid 2.0 will soon be available in more cities across the country.
Ather claims Grid 2.0 will provide enhanced features to support scale and future faster charging capabilities including OTA updates while also providing better safety and faster bug resolution.
The new Ather Grid 2.0 will also be more durable according to Ather, as the new network has been designed to handle degradation, making it more suitable for installations exposed to extreme environmental conditions. The modular design also enables field serviceability of parts with a strong emphasis on remote diagnostics.
Ather claims that Grid 2.0 will remain connected to the internet at all times providing real-time availability of all charging locations in every city to customers.
Speaking about the introduction of Ather Grid 2.0, Nilay Chandra, VP – Charging Infrastructure and Marketing, Ather Energy said “At Ather Energy, we have been continuously focusing on evolving and providing the best customer experience. With the introduction of Ather Grid 2.0, we will be able to fast track our ambition of setting up 500 fast-charging infrastructure by the end of this year. Our charging infrastructure will be available to all players who adopt the connector standard and we are in the advanced stages of conversation with multiple partners for the same. For us, this is the beginning of the Ather Grid network’s expansion, and it is critical to make charging infrastructure convenient and easily accessible to consumers in order to boost the adoption of electric vehicles.”
Ather Grid over the past couple of years has become one of the largest fast charging networks for two-wheelers in the country. The company plans to keep pushing forward by adding 500 new Ather Grid 2.0 centres across the country by the end of the financial year. Ather currently allows for fast charging of both two and four-wheelers on its Grid network at no cost to the customer. The company has stated that this will remain the case till the end of the current year. However, there has been no news on what the pricing will be when Ather starts charging users for plugging into its network.
Bangalore-based Ather Energy currently sells two electric scooters in India — the 450 Plus and the 450X. The Ather 450 Plus claims to have a ‘true range’ of 70 kilometres on a single charge and the ability to add 10 kilometres of range for every 10 minutes of being plugged into the fast charging Ather Grid.
The 450X, on the other hand, claims a ‘true range’ of 85 kilometres on a single charge and the ability to recoup 15 kilometres of range for every 10 minutes on a fast charger. The Ather 450X also features the ability to answer calls and control music with the help of Bluetooth.
Thoughts On the Ather Grid 2.0
With Ather Grid 2.0, the Bangalore-based EV manufacturer has decided to up its game with regards to charging. With the increasing popularity of EVs in India, seeing manufacturers step up to the plate to also provide charging infrastructure is something we applaud wholeheartedly.