If you go to the market to buy an electric scooter, you will face a lot of confusion because there are a lot of companies and everyone has their own requirements.
But the problem is, which one should you buy, what are the pros and cons, let’s talk about it and see what things should be taken care of when buying an electric scooter in India.
Electric Scooter Requirement
First of all, I would like to talk about what is your requirement and according to that, you should decide what type of scooter you want to buy.
That is, if you live in an apartment, then maybe the fixed battery one is not suitable for you and you will need a removable battery one.
The simple thing is that in the market, most of the fixed batteries come and there is only one scooter in which removable batteries come, that is Hero Moto Carb Vida.
Which lives with a removable battery pack, which if you live in an apartment, you can take it home and charge it.
This is the best thing and there is no need for a battery swapping network here because two batteries come in it, so it becomes the simplest solution.
Vida’s Hero electric scooter is a very good choice here. But one thing is that most companies place their batteries under the footboard only because the center of gravity is good there.
The battery that is there can also be kept safe, plus it can also be kept cold. And the long-lasting solution here is the fixed battery one, but according to the requirement, many companies have also taken out some removable battery options here.
Range
Now with this, the next thing comes is range, that is, you have to see how much you use your electric scooter. Usually, an electric scooter is used in India for 20 to 25 km in a day.
But still, there are such options available in the market that can make you available with a range of 100 km or more.
If you want a range of 100 km, then see if it has a 3 kWh battery pack or not. 3 kWh is such that the 80-90 can go up to 100 km. And if someone wants more than 100 km range, then focus on the 3 kWh battery pack, i.e. 3.5 and 4 kWh.
Because let me tell you, the market has given a limit of only 4 kWh because the subsidy is given up to that. That’s why more battery pack scooters are not available in the market. And if you see in 4 kWh, then you will get a guaranteed range of 100 km.
You can even drive above this, you can do 100-150. But the climate of 4 kWh remains and it depends a lot on the style of driving.
On an average, 100 to 110 is easily achievable in this. And whether we talk about All Electric, Ather or Bajaj, you can see so much range in them. This remains one thing.
Apart from this, it is important that you do not run after the range. Because usually, the range you travel in one time is not 100 km.
Most people go up to 20, 25 or 30 km. And after that, when you come home, you can charge it there. That’s why. The next thing is that people ask about the charging
Electric Scooter Charging
Infrastructure here that where will you charge it. Usually, if you are charging the electric scooter at home, then it is better. Public charging is available, but it is not so much available in India.
Ather and Ola have also promised, but they are not so easily available.
The simple thing is that if you are traveling in India and if you want to come back home at night, then overnight charging can be possible in the electric scooter.
You just have to see that some companies provide slow chargers here and some companies give fast chargers. In a slow charger, it can take 8 to 10 hours or 11 to 12 hours to fully charge the car.
But if there is a charger above 700 watts, then it can be fully charged in 5 to 6 hours. This will be one thing.
Build
The next important thing is the build quality. Build quality is often ignored here. Because in today’s time, a lot of companies use plastic more. Like Ola did. They put more plastic to make their scooters lighter.
Do you know what the problem was due to which? The electric scooter here is light, but its build quality is not so good. If you see, the best build quality in the market is that of Bajaj Chetak.
It comes with a metallic build and that is a very good choice here.
Metallic build is a very good thing. Even a company like Ather has kept its build very well. Their internal structure is very solid.
On top of that, they use fiber. Apart from this, Hero Vida has also shown improvement. And TV is its iCube.
Ola Electric has made the build quality a little lighter to cut its cost. So this will be one thing. I would like to talk about the motor with it.
Motor
Because many times it is seen here that the hub motor is used to make the scooter cheaper. As we talk about the hub motor in TV and iCube.
And in most of the products of Ola, the hub motor is used. The good thing about the hub motor is that it makes the vehicle cheaper. But do you know what the problem is? The hub motor is connected to the tire.
So sometimes the center of mass is more on the back of the vehicle. Apart from this, there can be breakdown and hitting there. The long-term solution hub motor is still not there.
The good solution is the mid-drive motor. Which is the Pro version of Ola.
Ather uses it in its cars. Even Bajaj’s implementation and Hero’s implementation is also very solid here. If your budget is less than Rs. 1 lakh, then go for the hub motor electric scooter.
If you are going above Rs. 1 lakh, then go for the mid-drive motor. Then it is a better choice.
Electric Scooter Features
The next thing comes with it is the features. Because in an electric scooter, you get all the features. As we talk about Ola Electric, you will get reverse. You will get cruise control.
Ather gives you the integration of Google Maps.
Ather was the first scooter in which you had a touchscreen dashboard. Even the auto hold is a great feature. And their magic twist. So there are many such features.
But a lot of features make the product more expensive.
Many times people have a requirement to go from point A to point B. So the basic key scooters are better. But someone has more features, needs navigation, needs to play songs. So that’s one thing. Although Ola has a lot of features.
But Ather has some better implementations. And you can keep some things in mind. The mandatory features like reverse.
Or regenerative braking. Which is a very interesting feature. That means your scooter will automatically brake. And the battery will be charged. So there are many such features that improve riding. And in many of them, you get to see more things.
Although, just because of more features, don’t buy an expensive scooter. Because the pricing inside it is also more. And in the future, many times companies sell the Pro Pack separately. So that’s one thing.
After Sales Service
The next thing is after sale service and distribution. Here you have to see how readily available your scooter is. You don’t have to order it from any other city. That’s the first thing. And the next thing is how is its service.
In some places, the service of some companies is very bad. In some places, you get to see some good service. You just have to decide this.
Because after sale service is also an important thing. Because if you are buying an electric scooter.
The problem is that if you drive it on the road. Then somewhere, something will happen. So when you get to see its resolution. This is one thing.
Electric Scooter Pricing
The next thing is pricing. As of today, there are still some EMPA subsidies available. Because of which the pricing has been reduced a little. 5 to 10 thousand rupees. And the pricing of scooters is also such that. 1 lakh rupees.
From 1 lakh to 1.2 lakh, you get to see a lot of good options. So you can consider them here. But with this, there are also options below 1 lakh rupees.
If you want to see them too, you can do it. With this, the Chinese rebranded electric scooters come.
You just have to stay away from them a little. This is one thing left. And if I compare an electric scooter with a petrol scooter. I’ll tell you a simple logic here.
Petrol ones are still a little cheap. Electric is still expensive. And the range in petrol, the full tank. You will never see that range in electric.
But in electric, if you drive a little distance. Then you can save more money there. Because of this, electric scooters are more cost efficient.
Because you don’t get so much recurring cost there. Whereas in petrol scooters, you have to put petrol continuously.
So if you drive it for a longer time, the cost will be higher. If daily travel is more than 50 km. Then electric scooter becomes a better choice here.
Battery Warranty
With this, the next question comes about the battery. What about the battery? Usually, companies like Ola give 8 years.
Ather makes 5 year battery available here. Warranty definitely. And it says that if the battery is more than 80% degraded.
Then they can change your battery here. Which is very good. And I can tell you one thing. The battery of electric scooter which is being used now. It is very advanced. And you can use it for many years.
You can drive it for 5-6 years easily. You can drive it for 8 years. And there is no guarantee that if the warranty is over.
Then your battery will be completely over. It is possible that your range will be reduced by 5% or 10%. But still it will run efficiently. And you can drive it for as long as you want. If we compare it with a petrol scooter.
Then the thing is that when you buy it new. Then you will get more mileage in it. But slowly the mileage reduces. This is the same with electric scooters.
After 5-8 years it won’t happen that the whole vehicle is yours. This is a big misconception. Which people still don’t understand. With this I can tell you the next important thing.
Brands
The companies you can consider for scooters.
Those are 5 companies. Like Hero, Vida, Ather Energy. TVS, IQube. Or Bajaj, Chetak.
They are very good. In 5th position I will put Ola electric scooter. These are the 5 companies which you can trust. And their products are widely available.
Other than them there are some other companies. Which are Chinese rebranded.
There is no sense in going there. Other than that the other companies. Like start-ups. They make big promises to you. But they are not able to fulfill those promises.
Because sometimes their vehicles don’t come on time. And there are many such start-ups. Who showed their bike or scooter. But the product never came. So you can stay away from them.
So if you consider these 5 companies. You will get a better value.
Conclusion
They have their own benefits. Hero Vida has a removable battery. Suitable for people who live in apartments. Bajaj has a metallic build. If someone wants a better build.
Then that is a good solution. And the affordable electric scooter they have. That is very good. If we talk about TVS.
It is very good to go from point A to point B. It is a very good scooter, TVS iQube.
It has a lot of availability and in India, TVS iQube is rising very fast. Let’s hope that its next versions are better than before.
Next option is Ather.
Ather is a little premium but gives you a good experience and good ride quality.
If someone wants to buy it in affordable price then Ola S1X is the best option. And if you want more features, then S1 Pro is the best option.
However, Ola is a scooter which still has the most features which is why it is the most sold scooter in the market.