Ather Electric Scooter Maintenance Costs Revealed

The Ather comes off as a slightly more expensive scooter given its lower range 

• Ather scooters have always excelled in performance, which brings their range lower than usual
• And if electric scooters have a lower range, that means they need to be charged more
• More charging ends in customers paying that much more in electricity bills or at charging station

India’s tryst with electric scooters has really taken off only in the past couple of years and well, it’s taken off quite rapidly. Electric scooters have been selling like hotcakes and our audience really seems to be loving the idea of using electrics for their daily commutes. One such prominent name in the electric scooter industry is Ather, which has been impressing us with its high-performance and sporty yet reliable electric scooters. 

And if you’re an Ather electric scooter owner, or are planning to get one, here we’ve laid down the maintenance and repair costs that the Ather electric scooter will undergo. As an e-scooter owner, you would obviously like to know the amount of money you have to save (or spend) on it, hence here’s our small compilation of the same:   

Low Range Issues

The Ather 450S and the Ather 450X’s Achilles Heel have always been their ranges. They’re scooters whose focus is on performance and that obviously has a negative impact on their ranges. The 450S and the 450X, both have a 90km and 120km (in the same ballpark) real-world range, and given what its competition boasts of, it’s not a lot. The Ola S1 Pro, for example, boasts nearly 50km more than the Ather, which is a lot. 

What the lower range does is that you will have to juice up the scooter at your house or at an Ather Grid a lot more than its competition. And what that means is that you will either be paying more electricity bills or Ather Grid fees as well. 

Charging Costs

Since most people have charging points at their homes, we’ll assume the same in this story. Online forums suggest that it takes anywhere between Rs 20 to 35 to charge up their Ather scooter at home. If we assume that the average rider travels around 700km a month, here’s how much the Ather electric scooter would save you over your average petrol-powered scooter. 

As you can see, owning an Ather would help you save nearly Rs 500 each month, translating to Rs 6,000 each year. And that money will only increase the more you travel. For example, if your travel amounts to nearly 1,500km each month, it could help you save as much as Rs 15,000 each year! 

Sure, that’s not as much as something like an Ola scooter, but it still is a lot for most buyers. And more importantly, the petrol costs are less than half for the Ather when compared to the average petrol scooter. 

Maintenance Costs

The average petrol scooter costs anywhere between Rs 500-2000 to get serviced. And while it’s not expensive, that cost is mainly down to the sheer amount of moving parts there are in average petrol-powered vehicles. And given that there is an engine, there are a lot of lubricants that you have to constantly monitor, replace and take care of. One primary example is engine oil being one chunky part of the cost at each service interval. 

An Ather electric scooter though, would cost you a lot less. Firstly, there are obviously a lot less moving parts given the lack of an engine. Plus the service interval stands at a solid 5,000km, which is a lot more than your average petrol scooter, say something like a Honda Activa 6G. The working time, meanwhile, is said to be between 24-48 hours; that’s how much time it’ll take for your scooter to be thoroughly checked and repaired.

Verdict 

All in all, if you were considering an Ather electric scooter especially to save fuel money, we’d advise you to go for it, for the extra buying cost will be worth it. It might be expensive to buy but you will be saving a fair bit over the years. And what you will get is an almost equally reliable scooter that will also put a smile on your face each time you get on it and ride it, with its sporty performance and very agile handling. 

Yes, something like an Ola electric scooter would help you save a bit more money each year, but what you’d get with the Ather is reliability and a lot more fun. Ola scooters have regularly proven to be very unreliable scooters, while Ather has really proven itself in this segment. So if you’re looking for a family-oriented electric scooter and if reliability is a must for you, nothing quite beats the Ather 450S or even the 450X in this segment of electric scooters.