Ather Energy begins setting up fast-charging EV network in Chennai

Electric vehicle start-up Ather Energy has announced the installation of its fast-charging network, Ather Grid in Chennai. The city will see between 50 to 55 Ather Grid points up and running by the end of the year.

With the installation of the charging network, Ather Energy has officially made its foray into the Chennai market. The fast-charging network can be used by all electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers. In a bid to popularise e-mobility in the auto hub, this facility is being offered free of charge till the end of the year.

At present, Chennai has seven active fast-charging Ather Points installed and is the second city in India to have Ather’s charging network. The company has partnered with progressive hosts including cafés, restaurants, tech parks, malls and gyms to reduce range anxiety and ease the adoption of electric vehicles in Chennai. The charging stations can today be found at Forum Vijaya mall, AtWorks and Bikes and Burgers, and other restaurants. The company says it continues to partner with more hosts which can offer EV owners easy accessibility and fit into their lifestyle.

Following Ather Grid, Chennai will have its own experience centre - Ather Space - and pre-orders for Chennai will open in June. In the meantime, consumers can express pre-order interest on the company’s website to get early access to test rides and priority deliveries.

The charging network is supported by the Ather Grid app which allows all EV owners to locate and check the availability of the nearest charging stations in real-time. Ather Energy in its accelerated expansion phase targets setting up of 6,500 charging points across the country by 2022.

Commenting on the AtherGrid expansion into Chennai, Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy, said: “Ather Grid has seen steady adoption in Bangalore and we believe that accessible charging infrastructure is critical before launching our products in any market we enter. We have already signed up with multiple partners and will add 50 charging points by the end of the year. Chennai was a natural choice for our expansion as the auto hub of the country and as the birthplace of Ather in IIT Madras. We are working on setting up the charging network and our experience centre - Ather Space - in time for the launch of the Ather 450 in the coming weeks.”

As of May 2019, the Ather Grid network spans across 31 charging points across 24 locations in Bangalore and seven locations in Chennai. The company has plans to expand the network and set up charging points in 30 cities by 2023.

Also read: FAME II subsidy makes Ather 450 cheaper by Rs 5,000