Scooters! Which one to buy Today? Electric Scooter vs Petrol Scooter

Does the idea of Ola being cheaper than a new scooter sound good to you? Exactly how? Here’s a comparison of petrol and electric two-wheelers.

Let’s start with the most popular scooters in India, like the Activa and Jupiter. There is almost no difference in price between these two. Activa 6G, the current version, costs approximately ₹90,000.

Ather 550s is the most popular electric scooter. It costs approximately ₹1,50,000 on-road.

So today we are going to compare both of these scooters. Let’s take a look at them.

First, as you can see, Ather is much more expensive than Activa 6G. But what are the costs of running both on the road?

Activa 6G vs Ather 550s Running Cost

Let’s talk about Activa first. You can expect average fuel consumption of 40km/l if you maintain it properly. One liter of petrol costs approximately ₹100. In other words, you will pay approximately ₹2.50 / km in Activa.

We are now getting 2.9kWh of battery in Ather. Which means it will require this much energy to recharge.

Currently, electricity costs will be around ₹6-8/kWh, as it varies on each state. Let’s assume it will lose some charge at the time of charging. So we can estimate that  4kWh of charge will be needed to recharge the battery. On average, let’s multiply the cost of electricity by ₹7. According to ₹7, it will cost us about ₹28 to charge. Ather claims an average of 119 km. As we all know, these are based on lab tests, so let’s assume 80km per charge. Calculations indicate that it runs at a rate of ₹0.35/km.

The cost of running Activa and Ather differs greatly. Active is almost 7x more expensive than  Ather.

Driving them for a year!

In a survey, it is found that a typical scooter user drives 8000km/year.

So if we check petrol it costs around ₹20,000 to drive it for a year. But as we know the price of petrol also fluctuates.

However, electricity costs around ₹2800. In addition, we know that the price of electricity is more stable than the price of petrol.

According to a survey, Indian consumers use their scooters for at least five years. If the price of petrol increases by 10%, then the cost of petrol will be ₹20,000 for the first year. The price of petrol will, however, increase by approximately 10%/year. The price for the second year will be ₹22,000. In the third year, it will be ₹24,200. In the fourth year, it will be around ₹26,620. Finally, it will be around ₹29,282 in the 5th year.

In terms of electricity, the first year’s cost will be ₹2800. In the second year, it will be around ₹3080. ₹3388 for 3rd year. The fourth-year ₹3495. ₹3850 for the 5th year.

If you look at the price of petrol, you will find that it totals roughly ₹66,000 over the first 3 years. Also, if you add the cost of Activa then it will be around ₹1,56,000.

Electricity is no different. Added the cost of recharging the scooter with electricity for the first 3 years will bring the total to ₹9268. If you add this amount to the price of the electric scooter, you will find it is around 1,60,000. This is almost the same as the Activa.

When you use these scooters for 3 years, you will start to notice the difference in their cost.

Convenience

• Because of their reliability, petrol scooters are the most convenient. It can be taken anywhere. You can easily refill its fuel. Petrol pumps are plentiful in India.

The number of charging stations available for electric scooters is still low. India’s infrastructure is also not yet ready for electric vehicles. In order to charge your EV, you must do so at home or at a specific location.

• Second, many EV buyers live in apartments or multi-story buildings. That’s why they can’t charge their vehicle. Therefore, EV vehicle manufacturers are making removable batteries. They can take it home and charge it there. Furthermore, it is too inconvenient to do so.

Maintenance Cost

We must take our Activa to the service center every six months, as many of you know. On average, its service costs ₹2000.

On the other hand, EVs’ parts are too expensive, and their service centers are too few. Furthermore, the manufacturer claims that these scooters’ batteries have a life span of 50,000 kilometers. Some sources note that the battery costs between ₹30,000 and ₹50,000. According to the manufacturer, the battery costs around ₹60,000. In addition, they said that the price would be reduced by ₹40,000 within the next two years. It has also been reported that its battery will cost around ₹25,000.

You will have to monitor your usage according to how much you are going to use this scooter. Is this scooter going to be your primary or secondary scooter? The battery will also cost around ₹25,000 in the next 5 years. Because our government is trying its best to move India towards electric vehicles.

Power

The petrol vehicle is much more powerful than the electric one. We all know that electric scooters have a much lower pickup and power than gasoline scooters. Even if 3 heavy people are sitting on a petrol scooter, the petrol scooter can easily carry them.

However, EV pickup is very low. In addition, it will get even slower if two heavy people sit on it.

Speed

With petrol vehicles, we can easily reach 120km/h. However, EVs are much slower than petrol scooters. They can run up to 80km/h. In addition, 80 kilometers per hour is a good speed for scooters. If you want a faster vehicle, you can opt for a bike. For scooters, 80 kilometers per hour is sufficient.

Conclusion

We should not buy electric scooters now because there will be a huge market for them in the future. Many manufacturers are investing in EVs because of this. It is certain that prices will drop too much if there are too many competitors. The cost of battery packs decreases as well. These scooters will also have higher mileage. We will even see quick charging in scooters, meaning we can charge them in half an hour.

In conclusion, if you want to buy an electric scooter, you should wait for two years.

That’s all for today’s blog. I hope all your doubts are cleared. Visit our website to read more interesting blogs like this. Subscribe to the Sarcastic Sindhi YouTube channel.

We’ll meet in the next blog. Until then, Stay Safe Stay Sarcastic.