Featured image credit: Image: Visdaviva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Source

By Piyush P. Yadav

Ather Energy has thrown a new punch into India’s crowded electric scooter market. On August 29, 2026, at its Community Day event, the Bengaluru-based company unveiled the Ather Konarc — a mass-market family scooter line that starts at Rs 99,999 ex-showroom, well below the price of any existing Ather model. It is the company’s clearest attempt yet to move beyond its premium, performance-first image and fight TVS, Bajaj and Ola head-on in the volume segment that actually decides who leads India’s electric two-wheeler market.

What the Ather Konarc costs and what you actually get

The Konarc line is split into two sub-families — Konarc (the base) and Konarc S — differentiated mainly by battery size and range, not by badge prestige. Ather has confirmed four IDC range variants so far, with a fifth (Konarc Z) still to be detailed.

Variant Battery IDC Range Ex-showroom Price (Bengaluru) Delivery
Konarc 100 KM 2.1 kWh 100 km Rs 99,999 Q1 2027
Konarc S 125 KM 2.7 kWh 125 km Rs 1,21,999 September 2026
Konarc S 161 KM 3.5 kWh 161 km Rs 1,44,999 September 2026
Konarc S 200 KM To be announced 200 km To be announced Q3 2027
Konarc Z (125/161 km) Same as S 125 / 161 km To be announced Q2 2027

The staggered delivery plan is deliberate: the two middle variants — the ones Ather expects to sell in the highest volume — start reaching customers this month, while the cheapest 100 km entry model and the longest-range 200 km flagship arrive later, once production ramps up at Ather’s Hosur facility.

Motor, range and charging: how the Konarc is built

Unlike the sportier 450-series scooters Ather is known for, the Konarc uses a steel unibody chassis and a more efficient, lower-output motor tuned for daily commuting rather than outright acceleration.

  • Motor: IP67-rated PMSM motor producing 4 kW peak on the base 2.1 kWh variant and 4.7 kW peak on the 2.7 kWh and 3.5 kWh variants, with 16 Nm of peak torque across the range.
  • Top speed: 70 km/h on every variant.
  • Acceleration: 0-40 km/h in 5.0 seconds on the base model and 4.7 seconds on the higher variants.
  • Gradeability: 16 degrees, adequate for city flyovers and moderate inclines.
  • Charging: A standard 450W onboard charger takes the battery from 0-80% in roughly 4 hours (100 km variant) to 5 hours 40 minutes (161 km variant) at home. Buyers can add a second 450W charger to combine for 900W and roughly halve those times. At Ather Grid public fast-charging points, the company claims 15 km of range added in 10 minutes.
  • Warranty: An extended 10-year/100,000 km option is available on the underlying Bedrock Battery pack — among the longer warranty terms offered on any electric scooter battery in India.

Practically, that means real-world range on the 125 km and 161 km variants should land closer to 100 km and 130 km respectively once city traffic, rider weight and air-conditioning-era heat are factored in — a gap worth knowing before you go by the IDC number alone. If you want the full methodology behind why IDC, TrueRange and real range never match, that is explained in detail in our range-numbers breakdown.

Features on board

Despite the lower starting price, Ather has not stripped the Konarc down to a bare-bones commuter. Standard equipment includes:

  • A 31-litre AutoPop underseat boot — among the largest in this price band
  • A choice of 4.2-inch or 7-inch digital display depending on variant
  • Magic Key keyless access and ignition
  • AirWalk reverse Park Assist for tight parking manoeuvres
  • An Advanced Electronic Braking System (AEBS) that manages brake force electronically instead of relying on a conventional physical ABS actuator
  • 14-inch front and 12-inch rear wheels for stability on Indian road surfaces
  • Support for Ather Grid, the company’s public fast-charging network

Colour options run from Quartz White with Blue and Majestic Grey with Black on the base Konarc, up to Celestial Gold with Blue and Lumen Copper with Black on the higher Konarc S trims.

How the Konarc lines up against the competition

Rs 99,999 to Rs 1,44,999 puts the Konarc directly against the scooters that currently move the most volume in India — not the premium end where Ather has historically played. The Simple Wave, launched barely a day earlier at Rs 1,09,999 with a claimed 243 km range, is now one of its closest rivals on paper, while Bajaj’s Chetak and TVS’s iQube/Orbiter remain the volume leaders Ather has to dislodge.

Scooter Starting Price Claimed/IDC Range Top Speed
Ather Konarc (100 km) Rs 99,999 100 km 70 km/h
Ather Konarc S (161 km) Rs 1,44,999 161 km 70 km/h
Simple Wave Rs 1,09,999 Up to 243 km (claimed) ~70 km/h
Bajaj Chetak 2501 Rs 87,100 (Bengaluru) ~95 km IDC 63 km/h
TVS iQube (base) ~Rs 1,00,000+ ~100 km IDC 78 km/h

Bajaj’s Chetak 2501 still undercuts the Konarc on entry price, and Simple’s newer Wave claims a much larger range for a similar price band — figures that always need to be verified against independent, real-world testing rather than brand claims alone. But the Konarc’s combination of a 10-year battery warranty option, a large 31-litre boot and Ather’s existing service and software reputation is designed to make up the difference in perceived value. Whether that persuades budget-conscious buyers away from Bajaj and TVS, which together sold the bulk of the 10.39 lakh electric scooters moved between January and August 2026, will only be clear once September and October sales numbers are published.

For buyers weighing the Konarc against a petrol scooter rather than another EV, the underlying economics are covered in our five-year cost-of-ownership comparison, which remains a useful starting point regardless of which electric model you eventually pick.

Should you wait for the Konarc, or buy something else now?

Two practical points are worth flagging before you head to an Ather showroom. First, only the 125 km and 161 km Konarc S variants begin deliveries in September 2026 — the cheapest 100 km version that headlines the Rs 99,999 price is not actually available until Q1 2027, and the range-topping 200 km variant not until Q3 2027. Anyone drawn in by the sub-lakh price tag needs to check current stock and delivery dates at their local Ather Space before booking. Second, as with every new-generation electric scooter, early production batches can carry teething issues that only show up once thousands of units are on the road — it is worth waiting for a few months of ownership reviews before committing, especially for the base variant that ships last.

Why Ather is chasing the mass market now

For most of its existence, Ather built its brand on the 450 series — scooters priced well above Rs 1.4 lakh that competed on performance, software and design rather than on affordability. That strategy won it a loyal following and the number-three spot in India’s electric scooter market by volume, but it also left the company exposed at the bottom of the market, where Bajaj’s Chetak and TVS’s iQube and Orbiter have consistently outsold it.

The Konarc changes that calculus. By pricing an entry variant under Rs 1 lakh while still offering a 10-year battery warranty option and Ather’s software stack, the company is betting it can pull first-time EV buyers away from cheaper, less-known brands without diluting its premium image too much — the Konarc is sold and serviced through the same Ather Space network as the 450 series, not spun off as a separate budget sub-brand. That is a different approach from how some rivals have handled the low end of the market, and it puts real pressure on Ather’s own service capacity as it tries to scale two very different price tiers through one retail network.

It also arrives at a pointed moment. India’s electric two-wheeler industry crossed roughly 10.39 lakh units sold between January and August 2026, and 2026 is on track to be the segment’s first calendar year to cross two million units nationally. Every additional player fighting for the sub-Rs-1.5-lakh bracket — Ather with Konarc, Simple with Wave, Bajaj with the Chetak 2501, TVS with the Orbiter — is effectively fighting over the fastest-growing slice of that market, since buyers moving from petrol scooters to their first EV overwhelmingly shop in this price band rather than the premium end.

What still needs to be verified before you book one

Several important numbers around the Konarc remain unconfirmed at launch. Ather has not yet released the battery specification, official price or exact delivery quarter for the 200 km Konarc S variant, and the entire Konarc Z sub-line — expected to bring styling or feature differences over the standard Konarc S — is still listed as “coming soon” with no pricing at all. Real-world range figures, which historically run 20-30% below IDC-rated numbers on Indian roads, have also not been independently tested yet by any reviewer, so treat the 100/125/161/200 km figures as manufacturer claims until third-party range tests are published. Buyers should also confirm state-specific on-road pricing, since registration costs, road tax and any residual state EV subsidy vary widely and can shift the effective price by several thousand rupees in either direction from the Bengaluru ex-showroom figures quoted by Ather.

Sources & Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the starting price of the Ather Konarc?

The Ather Konarc starts at Rs 99,999 ex-showroom for the base 100 km variant with a 2.1 kWh battery. The 125 km and 161 km Konarc S variants are priced at Rs 1,21,999 and Rs 1,44,999 respectively.

When will the Ather Konarc be delivered?

The 125 km and 161 km Konarc S variants begin deliveries in September 2026. The base 100 km variant is scheduled for Q1 2027, the 200 km variant for Q3 2027, and the Konarc Z variants for Q2 2027.

What is the top speed and motor output of the Ather Konarc?

All Konarc variants are electronically limited to a top speed of 70 km/h. The base 2.1 kWh variant makes 4 kW peak power, while the 2.7 kWh and 3.5 kWh variants make 4.7 kW peak power, with 16 Nm of peak torque across the range.

How does the Ather Konarc compare with the Bajaj Chetak and Simple Wave?

The Konarc sits between the Bajaj Chetak 2501 (Rs 87,100, around 95 km IDC range) and the Simple Wave (Rs 1,09,999, claimed up to 243 km range) on price. Ather is positioning the Konarc on its 10-year/100,000 km optional battery warranty, 31-litre boot and software ecosystem rather than on outright range or price alone.