Cetain rise fuel costs along with a series of government subsidies have shot the electric scooter into prominence and there were very few to be seen on the road. Likes of the Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro receiving over 1 lakh bookings within the first 24 hours of the booking there’s no underestimating the public interest that e-scooters have manage to achive especially in urban areas.
The big question is are e-scooters better equip to serve that need?
To analyse this, we are comparing two of the best-selling internal combustion or ICE scooters, Honda Activa and TVS NTorq, with two of the most prominent and well-equip electric scooters, Ather 450X and Ola S1.
Let’s Start…..
Price
According to a report more e-scooters sell in the first half of 2021 than in all of 2020, with the likes of Hero Electric and Ather Energy emerging on top.
And with both FAME II and the highest state subsidy taken into account – the likes of the Ola S1 comes down to Rs 86,099 in New Delhi, which makes it only Rs 11,000 more expensive than the TVS NTorq as its closest competitor in terms of performance and utility.
Technology
This is clearly goes to the electric scooter.
An electrified power allows for a lot of easy tweaks to the performance, over-the-air updates and with Ola, a reverse button, the likes of which are only to be found on hyper-expensive touring motorcycles like the H-D Road Glide and the Honda Goldwing.
The conventional petrol scooter never stood a chance.
Maintenance and Running cost
Maintenance costs of e-scooters is considerably lower than that of a petrol scooter.
You may have to tend to the replacement cost of the e-scooter’s motor components which will cost a total of approximately Rs 25000 and will last you for at least two years.
Performance
The e-scooter is pretty much every iteration, whether base of top-end both Ather’s and Ola’s offerings provide instant torque delivery, which cannot be match by the frugal, sheet metal relics that are the belt-driven scooters we see.
The Ather 450X makes roughly 7.2 bhp and a considerable 24 Nm of torque while the bigger Ola S1 Pro makes a scarcely believable 58 Nm of torque as much as a mid-sized sports bike!
Linear performance does not remain the key for two-wheeler utility.
Some of the largest selling scooters and motorcycles in India, have reached that milestone through based on their ability to withstand India’s climatic and topographical extremities, and e-scooters are yet to pass that litmus test.
Their ownership cycle is to be limit to roughly 4-5 years, before they need to replace the most expensive component on the e-scooter is the battery.
With battery costs dropping annually, the price gap between e-scooters and petrol scooters is likely to be bridge within weeks, making the prospect of buying an e-scooter even more profitable.
Refuelling and Recharging
There is no doubt that the ready availability of petrol, no matter how expensive, has proven to be a major convenience for scooter owners and so this section purely goes to petrol scooters.
Because having charging stations install in your residential complex appears to be a challenge according to several customers.
And the brands set-up a charging unit as part of the delivery process so getting permission from housing associations has proven to be a hassle.
If having a domestic charger is not a problem for you then you can go for an e-scooter.
THANK YOU FOR READING.
