Ather EL platform walkaround: Introducing the Aether E Platform
So far, Aether has had two products in its lineup: the Sporty 450 and the family-centric Rista. But underneath the different bodyworks, they’re largely based on the same chassis platform. Aether aims to expand its product offerings. And for that, it has created a new chassis platform called E. Now, this is just one of multiple possibilities that Aether will explore in the future with its future platform, the E.
A Family-Centric Scooter Concept
And this is, as you can see, a more family-centric electric scooter. Let me take you through what’s new on the Aether E.
New Uni-Body Chassis & Display
First, let’s start with the chassis. The 450 and the Rista chassis weren’t a single unibody thing. It was bits and pieces that were bolted together. However, on the E, what Ather has done is it’s a single unibody steel frame construction. And while the frames will differ depending on the sort of product that you go to buy in the future, the main crux of the chassis will stay the same, with small tweaks to the subframe and the floorboard depending on what sort of battery pack it houses.
And this concept has a huge 7-inch colour TFT display as far as I can tell. It’s not really on right now, just the words EL01 show up on the screen, but that’s a pretty big colour TFT display. We’ve only seen something similar on the Honda Activa E Road Sync Duo. That is a top variant of the Activa Electric that’s on sale. It should be a slick user interface in typical Ather fashion. And right now, we can’t show you more, but promising things are ahead for the E platform.
Battery & Charging Flexibility
Speaking of battery packs, that’s one of the most important things on an electric two-wheeler. And Aether has told us that this E platform can accommodate a small battery pack of 2 kW hours right up to a 5 kW mark. That’s a pretty good range to have, and it covers almost the entire spectrum of battery packs and sizes that are available on the electric two-wheeler market today.
How do you charge the E? Well, Aether has realised that the portable charger, despite having a big boot, it does heats up in the boot space. So, what they have cleverly done is that the E models will have an onboard charger. So, you simply need to carry a little bit of a cable, and it doesn’t eat into your boot space if you lug around your charger when you’re on the move.
The Aether E models will also be compatible with the company’s widespread grid fast charging network. As we know, there is a faster grid charger that Ather is going to show, and that will soon supplement the existing charging network.
Incorporating Customer Feedback
That is another plus point of an Aether. All these years that it has had the Rista and the 450 in production and on sale, it has been taking feedback from customers, from the media. And a few things that really stood out to me as soon as I entered the room where this thing has been parked are two little things.
First, you can see that this thing has actual foot pegs, not just a little piece that extends from the bodywork. It’s really helpful for somebody like me with bigger feet. And in general, it’s just a more straightforward thing to have foot pegs on a scooter. It’s more comfortable for the pillion to place their feet.
Another thing that I really like, and I think it should be a necessity on all gearless scooters, is this thing, a parking brake lock clasp. Whether or not this thing has hill control remains to be seen, but I’m just grateful that you have the option of a parking brake lock clasp.
Another little convenient point on the E that I’m just now noticing is that it has a storage cubby over here. On the long-term Rista that I used to run, I used to always find the lack of a storage cubby a bit of a problem, especially for a short-distance commute, where I need access to my phone sometimes. So, that is a good move from Aether in that regard.
Concept Details & Future Possibilities
Now, talking about the concept that we have in front of us, as you can see, this is more of a family-centric, practical sort of electric scooter to come from Aether in the coming months. Interesting detail. It’s got a 14-inch front wheel and a 12-inch rear wheel. This is something similar to the TVS Orbiter that was just recently launched.
As you can see, it’s still got a front disc brake, rear drum brake, but what Ather has done is instead of having a mid-mounted motor with a belt drive on the 450 and the Rista, you now get a swing arm-mounted motor which connects directly to the rear wheel. Performance and all is still not nailed down. That will be shared at a later date.
And while what you see in front of you is a family-centric scooter based on the E platform, in the future, there will be more variations based on the same platform. The possibilities range from a big maxi-style scooter with 14-inch wheels at both ends to a sporty, nimble city runabout thing, not like the 450, because the 450 is the pinnacle of what Aether is capable of. But something in that vein that will be a smaller, lighter thing, a smaller battery pack perhaps, 12-inch wheels at both ends. The possibilities are endless. Aether themselves are still learning new things with the E platform. And there’s a lot of exciting stuff to come from Aether based on this platform in the future.
Launch Timeline & Improved After-Sales
And speaking of when we’ll be able to see the first production model based on the Aether E platform, we have been informed will be next festive season, that is 2026. It remains to be seen which is the first sort of form factor that Aether debuts on the brand new E platform.
But it is sure to be an interesting thing and not just on the product side of things. Ather has been smart about its E platform in that it has also thought about the after-sales. Now, currently, the Rista and the 450 have about a 5,000 km service interval. Aether tells us that with the E platform, every product will have a 10,000 km service interval. Straight away, that’s half the amount of time that you need to visit a service centre.
And Ather has paid particular attention to how you service the vehicle as well. The company tells us that with the E platform, vehicles will be twice as quick to service as on the current 450 and Rista platforms, which should also be beneficial to customers in the long run.
Conclusion
All in all, it seems like the company has incorporated a lot of customer feedback into its new E platform, and I, for one, can’t wait to ride the first model on this platform.