[Scarlet_Rider]

We currently have a Suzuki Access 125 scooter (registered in August 2009) that is used for short runs like dropping and picking up kids from school and the evening sports activities. It is also used for other errands like grocery shopping, etc. Each trip is not more than 4 kms. The monthly usage is a maximum of 500 kms. It is even less during summer vacations as there are no trips to and from the school.

The fuel efficiency is less (32 kmpl) due to the short trips which are mostly in medium to heavy traffic. It returns a better efficiency (40+ kmpl) on the rare occasions when it is taken for a long trip. It has just run 45,000 kms and will complete 14 years in August this year. The fitness will be due for renewal in August 2024.

The option of going for a new electric scooter would have been a no-brainer if the daily usage was 25 to 40 kms. However I am not sure whether it would be worth switching to electric for our current usage pattern. Hence wanted to get views of fellow BHPians on whether it is advisable to switch to an electric scooter sometime early next year or continue with the current scooter by renewing the fitness for another 5 years.

[kadanaJ]

This is not exactly a straightforward answer, but here's a quick calculation of your 5 year savings with an electric scooty



Certain assumptions made above, such as petrol and electricity prices being that of Mumbai, not Hyderabad.

It's a quick calculation, so haven't considered which electric scooter you would buy (they range from a 1-1.5 lakh depending on the model), EMI, interest costs, maintenance on the old scooty, etc.

Also consider that some electric scooters like the Aether are powerful and genuinely lots of fun (consider it a premium for riding pleasure), if that is relevant.

Am attaching the Excel if you wish to play around with it.

Electric Scooty Running.xlsx

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

This is not exactly a straightforward answer, but here's a quick calculation of your 5 year savings with an electric scooty

Thank you very much for the excel and providing an idea on the savings. My main concern is with the current warranty being offered for the battery. Companies are offering anywhere from 3 to 5 years warranty. At the end of 5 years if the battery needs replacing then most of the amount saved would be required to purchase the battery. Plus not sure about other parts like the motor, drive belt, etc. So it's a bit of a 50-50 situation.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

It has just run 45,000 kms and will complete 14 years in August this year. The fitness will be due for renewal in August 2024...However I am not sure whether it would be worth switching to electric for our current usage pattern...Hence wanted to get views of fellow BHPians on whether it is advisable to switch to an electric scooter sometime early next year or continue with the current scooter by renewing the fitness for another 5 years.

Our background is similar: We've 18 year old Activa that was refurbished in 2020 & after few dramas now, no matter how much we pamper, the scooter does not turn pristine. Anyway we don't regret as we could not find a scooter to our satisfaction in the market today, so our old Activa atleast costs us less is the only consolation.

Getting to your point whether EV makes sense or not, ofcourse no. Pls see this post for my exhaustive justification on the breakeven between EV & fossil fueled scooter & when it makes a difference.

Note - There's something seriously wrong with your Access; typically the FE has to be over 45 Kmpl on highways; even going by the logic of yielding 40 Kmpl on highways, the city & highway difference cannot be 15 Kmpl difference, perhaps 35 is acceptable, certainly not 25.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by aargee

Getting to your point whether EV makes sense or not, ofcourse no. Pls see this post for my exhaustive justification on the breakeven between EV & fossil fueled scooter & when it makes a difference.

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

Originally Posted by aargee

Note - There's something seriously wrong with your Access; typically the FE has to be over 45 Kmpl on highways; even going by the logic of yielding 40 Kmpl on highways, the city & highway difference cannot be 15 Kmpl difference, perhaps 35 is acceptable, certainly not 25.

Apologies, I should have been more clear. When I mentioned rare occasions of long trip on the scooter, I was referring to a longer drive in city limits with flowing or medium traffic for about 15 to 20 kms. In such cases it returns around 40-42 kmpl. On highways it should definitely return 45+ kmpl. Our regular usage pattern is mostly in medium to heavy traffic. For example 3 kms in the morning, then 3 kms in the afternoon, 4 kms in the evening, etc. This is where it returns about 32 kmpl due to frequent braking, traffic and the initial km being run with cold engine. I will anyway do a proper highway run to confirm what FE it returns.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

At the end of 5 years if the battery needs replacing then most of the amount saved would be required to purchase the battery. Plus not sure about other parts like the motor, drive belt, etc. So it's a bit of a 50-50 situation.

That's the exact dilemma. You are not going to get a definitive answer if you are looking at it from a savings maximisation perspective. The biggest reasons to buy an EV would be for technology and performance. You can look at savings as a second order outcome because your commute is so low.

The right approach would be to test drive all the EVs out there, compare it with the 125cc ICE scooters and buy the one you like. I'm assuming that stretching the budget to get an EV is not an issue for you.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

We currently have a Suzuki Access 125 scooter (registered in August 2009) that is used for short runs like dropping and picking up kids from school and the evening sports activities. It is also used for other errands like grocery shopping, etc. Each trip is not more than 4 kms. The monthly usage is a maximum of 500 kms. It is even less during summer vacations as there are no trips to and from the school.

The option of going for a new electric scooter would have been a no-brainer if the daily usage was 25 to 40 kms. However I am not sure whether it would be worth switching to electric for our current usage pattern. Hence wanted to get views of fellow BHPians on whether it is advisable to switch to an electric scooter sometime early next year or continue with the current scooter by renewing the fitness for another 5 years.

Here is a simple comparison I prepared to check the running costs between different options.



First, you need to decide if you are in the market for a new scooter or not. If your existing scooter is in good condition, then that is always the cheapest option even though it may cost slightly higher maintenance costs. If you are in the market for a new scooter, then going for an electric scooter like TVS iQube will be a no-brainer over another new petrol scooter. Even with low usage of 500 km per month, you will be able to recoup the higher initial costs in less than 2 years due to extremely lower fueling costs with an electric scooter. I took one of the highest electricity slabs in Hyd/Telangana for per unit costs in the comparison.

If you decide on the electric scooter, would suggest you test ride all the options like Ather, Ola, TVS iQube, Chetak, etc... TVS iQube is a perfect replacement scooter for all the Activas, Jupiters, or Access scooters. It has better acceleration than those and provides a silent, comfortable, and reliable ride at a much cheaper price than Athers or Olas.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

When I mentioned rare occasions of long trip on the scooter...highway run to confirm what FE it returns.

In that case, what I would suggest is, start tracking your ODO using a mobile app like Drivvo or FuelIO to see how much you clock on an average per month; longer the better. Give it like 6 months time frame to see the average before taking a decision (by then you'll also have better models flowing in). If you're doing a rare highway ride, then no need to test for the sake of it either.

When we talk about 6-7+ years of ownership & consider the running, maintenance, fuel, battery, outright purchase, 5% of inflation every year, cost of batteries replaced at 7th & 11th year, basically everything except insurance & its NCB; the breakeven has to be 19 Km on an average to leverage the benefit of EV scooter in financial terms over fossil fuel that happens from 4th year onwards (pic 3) which works until the price of Petrol reaches an AVERAGE of Rs 110 {works until the price of Petrol reaches Rs 117 per liter from today's Rs 103}

The outcome in the below example shows RayZR as it's considered to be most FE scooter at the time of writing among our personal choice of NTorq, RayZR, Dio, Access & Ather.

For 15 Km average, its not worth while to opt for


From 16 Km average onwards, it's a tie between Petrol & EV scooters


From 19 Km onwards is when EV starts making sense

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Companies are offering anywhere from 3 to 5 years warranty. At the end of 5 years if the battery needs replacing then most of the amount saved would be required to purchase the battery. Plus not sure about other parts like the motor, drive belt, etc. So it's a bit of a 50-50 situation.

Unlike the 12V battery which is either working or one fine day stops working on our cars, the battery on EVs like Ather doesn't fail overnight. The end of life is generally defined as 70% - 80% of the battery storage capacity on day 1. That's what the warranty covers.

In your case since your daily running is not much I don't think it will matter if the range drops from 80 KMs to 60 KMs. Also, the warranties are designed in such a way that the manufacturer is at least 95% sure that the battery doesn't need replacement in the warranty period. So Ather's battery for example on average should last at least 8 years for most people.

What I would recommend is the following:

1. Buy an EV from a reputed player like Ather.
2. Add extended warranty cover for peace of mind. I wouldn't based on the running you have described.
3. Take care of the battery. Charge to 80% - 90% as far as possible and don't let the battery run out and not use the scooter for weeks together.

Pretty sure it will work out for you. Added benefit is the fun of driving EVs.

[prasanna_indaje]

Electric scooter from a reputed brand ( read : Ather, TVS, Bajaj and Ola) will be expensive to own than regular ICE scooters (read: Activa, Access and many others).
However, A good electric scooter will save good amount of money to run and maintain.

Some pointers :

My Ather takes about 3 units of electricity to charge from ~20% to 100%. Even if I use the scooter in WARP mode always, I get 55-60 kms per 80% battery charge. That makes it ~0.5 Rs per km, assuming 10 Rs per unit of electricity.

The scooter charges overnight and will be ready for the ride next morning. No more visits to the petrol bunk and waiting in the queue.

Service intervals are for every 5000 kms. So for your usage, it will once per year. (not sure of other brands, taking Ather as example)

Reverse 'gear' and auto-hold are two other significant features and are not available in any ICE scooter available today.

Financially, the additional amount paid to EV will be covered only in 6-7 years. But, it is the convenience, ride, acceleration, torque and technology pack ( LCD display, integrated maps, ride statistics, bigger underseat storage) that makes difference and will add to the 'return on investment' factor.

[Voodooblaster]

Renew FC and use it for a 2 to 3 years

Sell it off when there is at least 18 months remaining on the FC and compulsorily ensure that RC is transferred

By that time EV market will have matured further and hopefully we will have a better choice

[Aviator_guy]

I have quite similar requirements as in your case, in fact lower running of 300 km per month. Considering the premium price of EV scooter, low running and possible negative impact on battery life due to low usage, I decided to go for new Access125. The only positive thing about EV would have been better performance but given that my running is mostly in traffic situation within city, that is also not such a deal breaker. Quite happy with the Access and using the upfront money saved vs EV on the petrol !

[ashkamath]

Well, I have a 2007 Honda Activa that has done around 85000 Kms (as of date) and last year I got the FC renewed for a further period of 5 years.

My usage pattern is a bit similar to your usage. About 500-600 Kms per month average. I was in a similar dilemma last year when my scooter completed 15 years. The present lot of scooters (both ICE & EV) are in range of INR 1 L and above and whether I should be spending that amount for a new scooter. The present market value of my Activa is very negligible so selling it does not fetch me anything substantial.

I live in Goa and hence due to the coastal weather, the metal body of Activa had corroded and the paint had faded. Mechanically the scooter was running fine with about 35-40 Kms per liter fuel efficiency.

So, what I did was got my Activa stripped and painted (INR 6K) changed the belt, a bearing and a full service (around INR 2K) and got the FC done for another 5 years. The painter has assured that the paint will last another 5 years and anyways that will be in 2027 and I shall scrap the scooter when that time comes. As of now, the scooter is as good as new with a complete service and running smoothly like butter.

As some one mentioned earlier, the EV industry is maturing and I believe in another 4-5 years time, we would be seeing EV scooters with a higher range, perhaps a bit affordable and better charging infrastructure. I am adopting a wait and watch approach as EV is still in a transition phase.

Personally I feel that if your scooter is working to your satisfaction, you could continue extending its FC for another 5 years and keep the EV option open. Going ahead, you can buy an EV scooter anytime if you feel like it

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by aargee

Getting to your point whether EV makes sense or not, ofcourse no.

Originally Posted by ranjitnair77

The right approach would be to test drive all the EVs out there, compare it with the 125cc ICE scooters and buy the one you like.

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Here is a simple comparison I prepared to check the running costs between different options. First, you need to decide if you are in the market for a new scooter or not. If your existing scooter is in good condition, then that is always the cheapest option even though it may cost slightly higher maintenance costs.

Originally Posted by aargee

From 19 Km onwards is when EV starts making sense.

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

What I would recommend is the following

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

Electric scooter from a reputed brand ( read : Ather, TVS, Bajaj and Ola) will be expensive to own than regular ICE scooters (read: Activa, Access and many others).

Originally Posted by Voodooblaster

Renew FC and use it for a 2 to 3 years.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Well, I have a 2007 Honda Activa that has done around 85000 Kms (as of date) and last year I got the FC renewed for a further period of 5 years.

Thanks all for taking time and providing detailed inputs! As of now I am not in the market for a new scooter since our Access has just done 45000 kms and there are no issues with it. Hence have decided to continue with it. The FC renewal is due in August 2024. Due to the limited running, the decision to go for an electric scooter is on hold. The only thing that can change my decision would be in case the government decides to ban 15 year old vehicles, which I think is unlikely especially for 2 wheelers. But you never know!

[pradeepkc]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

The fitness will be due for renewal in August 2024.

Hence wanted to get views of fellow BHPians on whether it is advisable to switch to an electric scooter sometime early next year or continue with the current scooter by renewing the fitness for another 5 years.

You will have an option of converting your scooter to EV soon. A few startups are going through ARAI certification or are in the process of going for certification soon. These kits will give you about 50 km of real world range and a top speed of about 50 kmph. Ideal for users like you. I would recommend to wait and evaluate this option.