Electric vehicle company Ather Energy announced that it has rolled out ‘AtherStack 5.0’, the biggest upgrade to its software engine which drives the vehicle. “AtherStack 5.0 will be powering a brand new user interface (UI) for the dashboard in addition to launching vector maps powered by Google,” the company said in a statement. Built on several interconnected layers of software, firmware, system intelligence and algorithms, AtherStack is the software engine that powers “every single user experience on the Ather 450X”.
Speaking on the rollout of the new AtherStack 5.0, Tarun Mehta – Co-Founder & CEO, Ather Energy, said, ” In 2018, when we launched AtherStack in Ather 450, it was the first ever software engine on any two-wheeler in India, probably even globally. It powered first-to-market experiences like the touchscreen dashboard, onboard navigation, and remote diagnostics, which barely existed even in luxury cars at that time. With a fluid new UI and Google Vector Maps, AtherStack 5.0 takes our touchscreen and maps experience to a whole new level. It also enables us to leverage our hardware to unlock new experiences such as AutoHold. Importantly, it allows us to roll out these new experiences to most of our existing customers as well, based on their scooter generation. AtherStack will continue to form a core of our product strategy, allowing us to constantly keep enhancing our product experience on the existing hardware platform.”
The new upgrade gives the dashboard a fresh look and an even more intuitive UI which enriches the overall experience of operating the dashboard. Quick controls have also been added, which allows users to easily adjust settings such as brightness or turn off incoming call notifications with a single click. Moreover, the manufacturer announced the ‘Battery Protect’ which extends the battery warranty to 5 years/60,000 km.
According to the company, “this is the first such warranty program in the industry that not only covers battery failures but also guarantees a minimum of 70 per cent state-of-health for the battery at the end of 5 years.” Ather Energy also expanded options for customers by introducing four new colours, a new comfortable seat, and the ‘unveiling of Ather’s scooter accessories and merchandise’.
The new Ather 450X and 450 Plus will be available for a test rides and retail across 70 cities and 89 Experience Centres across the country.
As an ode to early adopters of Ather scooters, the company announced an industry-first buyback offer for its first 1,000 customers. This allows them to buy the new Ather 450X at Rs.80,000. The first 1000 consumers who opt for this buyback upgrade will get an additional discount of Rs. 10,000 making the effective price Rs. 70,000.