• You can now get up to 60% resale value through the buyback scheme

• Free 1-year access to fast charging with the purchase

Ather Energy has launched the Ather Rizta as well as the Ather 450X and Ather 450S with Battery As A Service (BaaS) plans. The customers can now buy the Ather Rizta with BaaS starting at Rs 75,999 and the 450 series starting at Rs 84,341 (both ex-showroom, Lucknow). This makes the Rizta cheaper by Rs 24,000, and the Ather 450S is now more affordable by Rs 35,500. If you are confused about what BaaS is, here's an explainer:

In the BaaS (Battery As A Service) scheme, the scooter is divided into two parts - the scooter shell (the whole scooter excluding the battery) and the battery. The BaaS scheme allows buyers to pay just for the scooter's shell, and the payment for the battery can be made in monthly installments depending on the usage. For the Rizta, this minimizes the upfront cost of the scooter by about 30%, making it accessible to a lot more buyers.

In addition to this, several financial and credit firms that have partnered with Ather now offer flexible payment schemes to the buyers, with the cost of the battery being recovered in a span of 3-4 years. Additionally, if you choose the BaaS plan for 48 months, you can effectively use the scooter at Re 1 per km, with the only catch being that you cover at least 1000km every month.

Apart from this, Ather has announced an 'Assured Buyback Programme' for the scooter, with an assured buyback value of 60% after 3 years and 50% after 4 years, depending on the scooter's condition and kilometres covered.

Along with the above schemes, Ather now offers an 'Extended Comprehensive Warranty (ECW)' for manufacturing defects on the battery and 11 other critical electrical components of the scooter for up to 5 years and 60,000 km (whichever is earlier). For customers with the AtherStack Pro subscription pack, the warranty covers the motor, controller and charger, among others. With the purchase you also get complimentary free-of-cost access to Ather's fast chargers across the country for a year, lowering the running costs even more.

BikeDekho Says:

The popularity of the BaaS scheme has increased in the recent past, with more manufacturers offering their two-wheelers at a much more affordable price point. Vida recently did the same with the VX2 range, and now Ather seems to have joined the bandwagon. Interestingly, Ather's initiative comes just before Ola Electric's Independence Day announcement that's scheduled to happen later today. If we were to go by this pattern, we wouldn't be surprised if Ola launches this initiative today, possibly followed by Chetak and TVS in the future.

This scheme also comes at just the right time when petrol two-wheeler owners are grappling with fuel regulation change, particularly those who own older bikes and scooters that are not compatible with E20 fuel (20% ethanol, 80% petrol). For them, going green seems to be a good option, especially with manufacturers offering BaaS schemes.