[ghodlur]

This thread as come at a right time for me as I am contemplating to jumping the EV wagon by replacing my Honda Activa to either Ather or TVS or Vida.

The points which are actually putting me off are:
1. Range
2. Charging infrastructure
3. Service reach
4. Unknown unknowns

Have been spending around 1k for the annual service of Activa and till date its working fine. But the itch to upgrade/move to EV is getting pretty strong. Add family desires to be with the trend (peer family pressures).

[Neo18]

The following points are ones holding me back from buying an EV scooter, even though the performance and features of an EV are far superior to any Petrol scooter today.

1.Low usage(less than 15 kms a day). It will be ages before EV starts making financial sense with this usage.
2.Reduction of fame II subsidy which is estimated to add atleast 30k to the price of already expensive EV scooters.
3.Increase in cost of electricity in Bangalore. I used to get a bill of around 2k per month and this month it has jumped to 4k because of arbitrary arrears added from the month of April. I live in the heart of Jayanagar and still experience frequent power cuts on a daily basis. BESCOM has no clue on the cause of these power cuts when I call the helpline. God help me when I add an EV Scooter to this equation.
4.Lack of clarity on cost of battery replacement and whether it is possible to replace the individual degraded cells instead of the entire battery pack. Has any Team-BHPian gone through the entire cycle of a battery pack and has replaced it? Any leads here will be useful to folks who are sitting on the wall with respect to an EV Scooter purchase.

As of today, my 11 year old Activa is running just fine with regular service. My usage pattern means I pay around 12k INR per year in maintenance (Approximately 8.5k in fuel, Approximately 1k in Insurance and approximately 3k in 2 Honda services)

Hope this helps in your decision making!

[Phantom 510]

I say petrol scooter.

Pros

1. Fill it, shut it and ride it.
2. Affordable price tag.
3. Efficient when ridden carefully (55 kmpl).
4. Won't run into limp mode when low on fuel.

Cons

1. Lacks flamboyant touchscreen dashboard crammed with all sorts of stuff.
2. Lacks the instantaneous pick up.
3. Lot more expensive to run.
4. Tailpipe emissions.

N.B - These are my own personal observations and it shouldn't influence your purchase decision. You need to make a list of your own priorities and then check out whether an ICE or an E scooter fulfills your expectations better.

[Altrozed]

Any day petrol scooter. On the cost to cost basis, one needs to be invest at least 50K INR more than its petrol counter part. There is no way one recover this cost even when the running gets high.

The most EV Scooters which has decent range and brand value is at least 130K INR and an average scooter is around 80K INR. Servicing costs of scooter isnt like car and it needs very minimum servicing at max of cost 5K INR.

For cars, it can make sense for cost recovery but for scooters, definitely not worth unless you wanted an E.V

[raptor_diwan]

Voted for Petrol!!

I would suggest going for petrol. However, if you're willing to spend a little extra money and don't mind investing in an EV, ( for experience ) then you can opt for an EV. Ather is definitely a great choice as it has proven to be reliable in the long run, and most of the issues have been resolved.

But considering your usage, you don't actually need an EV. A traditional (ICE)with a full tank of petrol would be more than sufficient for you. With your low usage, you can be tension-free for over a month without the need for advanced planning.

[viggienomad]

Originally Posted by arnav17

...
Daily usage of minimum 5 km and can go up to maximum 20km.
...

For such a low running in EV, you may rarely need use fast charging network. 99.9% you likely be charging at home only, about once a week.

You have not mentioned whether you can charge EV at home. If you live in an apartment, the rules & bike parking location may not work out. If that is not an issue, then EV else Petrol.

[Joe367]

Originally Posted by Kkumar

6. Even though many people claim EV to be green, it’s not true because the amount of pollution caused by lithium extraction is too much and also the majority of electricity generation in our is coal based.

This isn't completely true. Eventhough EV's are not going to save the environment by itself, polluting caused by EV's are much less in comparison to pollution caused by production and usage of fossil fuels. Not only 'how much' it also matters where the pollution occurs. While pollution caused by lithium extraction is limited to the mining site, ICE vehicles pollute where we live and breathe. Another thing to factor in is the efficiency of energy conversion. Producing electricity by burning fuel is more efficient than burning fuel in individual vehicles.
This shouldn't hold anyone back from buying an EV.

[qaqa]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Low running is the only case against EV considering you will be paying more upfront and eventually battery replacement after say 7-8 years.

Isn't battery replacement linked more to the number of charge-discharge cycles (and hence miles run) and less to time? So typically, the battery replacement issue would arise after "x" number of kilometers are run; it shouldn't matter if "x" arrives after 8 years, or after 15 years. In other words, battery replacement should not be a factor when comparing between high mileage and low mileage scenarios.

It is only the battery warranty which is time-linked.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by qaqa

It is only the battery warranty which is time-linked.

You are right in theory, but then they do deteriorate over time. Right from temperature to age et all.. affects most chemical cells unless stored in ideal conditions and charge levels. How many gadgets that one has, though used less have had same battery performance retained after couple of years. So it is not that straight forward and law of average is best used to determine for calculation purpose.

[Venky03]

@OP, you missed a crucial detail: what is your budget? If you're stretching it for an EV, I will recommend petrol scooters due to FAME-II subsidy reduction.

Comparing Activa, Jupiter, and nTorq to the Ather 450X is unfair as they belong to different segments.

[Scarlet_Rider]

I had started a similar thread and got very good inputs from fellow BHPians. Do check it out.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...e-pattern.html (Does switching to an electric scooter make sense for our usage pattern?)

[Ginger1203]

I bought TVS IQUBE in Aug '22 and I'm really happy with my choice. I've ridden around 4700+ km and use it for all local chores. Very easy to handle, not very heavy, easy controls, great looking, charging is simple, gives a riding mileage of 85-90 km in eco mode with full charge. Two adults can easily ride it and the seat it wide and comfortable. The storage area is adequate for a helmet plus a small water bottle.


The only negative is the throw of the headlight at night. That is an area for improvement otherwise it's a very convenient ride.

[MrMcqueen]

Cons of getting an electric scooter (Mostly quoted by my mother) :

1. May struggle to take 2 people (?)
2. Charging infrastructure is still not very developed
3. Electricity prices in Karnataka
4. After being used to a petrol, adjusting may be difficult.

I am an owner of EV (OLA S1 Pro) clocked 13K Kms i will give my experience.

1. It can take 2 people with Ease (regularly driven with my spouse and a 3 year old with speeds around 50 Kmph in normal mode with still more power on tap, touched 90 Kmph in hyper mode with 2 people total weight 177 kgs).
   
2. My regular use is around 35-40 kms per day , and had a around 10-12 drives with 75-95 km each in a single day. never used a public charger till date.
   
3. Per Km cost of EV will always be in paisa not in a rupee as is the case with ICE vehicle.
   
4. After 17 years of ICE driving it just took me like 10 days to switch to EV. now i have a petrol motorcycle in house never been touched for almost a year. (Except my dad and brother who use it when needed).

If you can afford go for EV. you will be a convert.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by MrMcqueen

1. It can take 2 people with Ease (regularly driven with my spouse and a 3 year old with speeds around 50 Kmph in normal mode with still more power on tap, touched 90 Kmph in hyper mode with 2 people total weight 177 kgs).

Is there any weight restriction for riding the EV scooter? For Activa there is weight restriction of max 180 kgs that can put on the scooter when riding.

[chinmaypillay]

If you are the primary rider and are ok with a shift in the tech, go for an electric scooter.

But if you have the elders in the house driving, especially your mother, I would recommend sticking to petrol vehicles.

The trouble apart from their age is that the electric vehicle is very silent and it would be hard to recognise if the vehicle is on, along with the immediate torque which could get difficult to control.

Since lot of calibration would be required, go for the petrol scooters if elders are also riding it. Period.