As per the recent analysis report published by the consulting company Wood Mackenzie, the global economic downturn caused by the corona outbreak will hit heavily on the electric vehicles market. Apart from the corona pandemic, the agency mentions that the lower oil prices will delay the potential purchase decision of the consumers as well. Also, consumers tend to delay the new car purchase for a few months to get the future economic conditions outlook. As per the Mr. Ram Chandrasekaran, Wood Mackenzie Principal Analyst;
“Most EV buyers will be the first-time owners of the technology and there will be uncertainty to adopt a new technology created by the outbreak. Once the outbreak controlled in China, customers will come back to the car dealers to evaluate their confidence in EV’s”
In China, EV sales were down by 54% in January 2020 and an estimated 90% drop in February which shows the above-said quote is correct on this situation. Besides, US auto manufacturers have held or postponed the launch of the new EV models and shifted their efforts to manufacture medical equipment to support the current situation. According to Wood Mackenzie, all these factors affect the EV sales drop and expected to bounce back the demand by 2021 only.
Ather Energy has been founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Ather has designed India’s first line of truly intelligent, high-performance electric scooters – the Ather 450X & 450. The products have been designed and made in India and along with the scooters, Ather also started a public charging network called Ather Grid.
The Ather 450X is a premium electric scooter packed with features and performance ingredients to redefine the scooter riding experience in India.
Ather has invested heavily in the customer experience, right from retail to hassle-free pre-ordering via website. The company will be expanding the dealer network in 2020 across India. Ather manufacturing plant is in Tamil Nadu and the company begins deliveries in more than ten cities, Coimbatore, Pune, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad Mumbai & Kochi.
Ather have received funding from the top startup founders and companies as below;
2014
Flipkart Founders (Sachin & Binny Bansal)- $1 Mn
2015
Tiger Global – $12 Mn
2016
2016: Hero Motocorp- $32 Mn
2019
Sachin Bansal & Hero Motocorp $51 Mn
ATHER 450X
Ather 450x, the super scooter is the outcome of an award-winning design philosophy and quicker and more intelligent than Ather 450. This scooter comes in three new colors, White, Grey & Green. Ather450X is powered with a 6kW PMSM motor, 2.9kWh lithium-ion battery, and with 4 riding modes. Eco, Ride. Sport and Warp modes will give the rider a seamless experience. In Wrap mode, this scooter can go from 0 to 40 mph in less than 3.3 sec.
The battery has been improved drastically and enabled a projected Indian Drive Cycle offering a range of 116km and a real range of 85km in city riding conditions. Ather 450X will also charge 50% faster than before and this makes 450X, the fastest charging electric scooter in this category.
Ather450X has a 4G SIM and Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth connectivity. This will allow riders to attend calls, manage music on the 7” touchscreen dashboard etc. This scooter using Android open-source for map navigations, Over the air updates, Auto indicators, and Guide me home lights.
Ather450X_HomeScreen
The Ather app has offered personalized ride statistics, push navigation, charging status, theft and tow detection, live location, voice assistant, and welcome lights. Ather450x also supports connected accessories like smart helmets and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) as well.
OWNERSHIP MODEL
Ather has a new structure of purchase and ownership models for the Ather 450X scooter. The scooter will be offered with innovative flexible variation options in the form of performance packs. This option will enable customers to switch between performance packs and receive free battery replacement in the event of battery failure throughout the registered life of the scooter.
The Ather 450X will be offered with two performance pack options; Pro & Plus that owners can switch according to their convenience. Each of these packs will offer a variety of smart features and unique ride options. So, in this case the owners don’t have to limit to a single variant.
With the new ownership model, the upfront cost of the Ather 450X will be INR 99,000 (EX-Bengaluru) along with a monthly subscription package of INR 1699 for the plus option and INR 1999 for the Pro variant. In some other states Ather 450x owners can enjoy subsidy benefits offering by the state governments as well.
ATHER GRID
Ather grid is a network of charging points to solve the need for public charging of electric vehicles. So far, the network has 39 charging points in Bengaluru and 14 points in Chennai. Ather is planning to expand the network to 6500 EV charging points in 30 cities by 2023.
Ather grid can be used by all-electric vehicles through the Ather Grid App. The company aims to have a grid point within a 4 km driving distance. The charging stations will be located in places like malls, tech parks, and cafes which will fit in the lifestyle of consumers.
The COVID-19 PANDEMIC is impacting economic, social, and political disruptions heavily like never seen before. The auto industry also facing one of the worse times. China witnessed a fell off 80 percent on auto sales last month. Globally, the auto industry has been canceled large events including Geneva Motor Show.
The Electric Vehicles market will have a heavy impact on the current situation as well which will delay or cost extra on their global sourcing of technology, batteries, and related parts. EV’s have already faced a tough sell among average middle-class consumer. The drop in oil prices motivates the consumers to move towards internal combustion vehicles for a while.
Fuel prices will bounce back again, but in the short term under the current situations, consumers might reconsider their automotive spending. If the recovery in aviation will be slow, fossil fuel demand would be less and gas prices could stay low for a period which will decrease the demand for EV’s.
Still, long term potential for Electric Vehicles remain positive considering the environmental benefits and support measures from the governments.
EESL, a joint venture of the public sector units of the Government of India and Ministry of Power is set to procure 1000 electric vehicles for the all India operations. The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) looking for electric cars with a driving range over 180 kms.
This is part of the National e-mobility programme launched by Ministry of Power and Government of India in March 2018. Under this programme, EESL plans to procure 10000 EV’s to deploy in Government Departments and Ministries. Set up charging infrastructure is also part of this programme. EESL have already set up 350 charging stations in India so far.
EESL listed out two different requirements as per below;
Source EESL
The scope of project including designing, manufacturing, supplying and maintaining the vehicles at required places in India.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must be car manufacturers registered under Indian Companies Act
Must have experience in doing the same activities on internal combustion engine cars for the last 3 years or electric cars for the previous year.
Companies must have minimum average annual turnover of INR 310 million in the last three financial year for Package 1 and INR 110 Million for package 2.
The net worth of the applicants in last FY should not have been less than 100% of the paid-up capital.
Applicants must have been profitable in the last 2 years.
The last day of bid submission is February 28, 2020.
Last year, the company signed a 10 year MOU with Apollo Hospitals Enterprises also to install public EV charging stations at the hospital premises in India.
Previously, EESL published tender for 200 fast charging stations as well.
EV MOTORIST INDIA 