THE E-SCOOTY RIDES INTO TOWN

They are hot, good-looking and promise to be cheaper to maintain. The arrival of trendy two-wheeler EVs perks up the segment

- M.G. ARUN

EV brand S1, S1 Pro

Manufactured by Ola Electric

Price (ex-showroom) Around Rs 1 lakh (S1); around Rs 1.3 lakh (S1 Pro)

For the past three years, the two-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) segment in India has been largely quiet, barring some big two-wheeler players announcing plans and the launch of the Ather 450 in Bengaluru in September 2018 after much delay, Bajaj Auto’s resuscitated Chetak scooters and TVS Motor’s iQube electric scooter. That changed this August with the high-decibel launch of the Ola electric scooter by the Indian taxi aggregator. Its Rs 1 lakh price tag places it as a stiff rival to incumbent manufacturers of internal combustion engine (ICE) two-wheelers in a highly-price sensitive Indian market.

With the launch of Ola’s S1 and S2 Pro, for which pre-launch bookings had already begun, there will now be four home-bred e-scooter makers in India. Rival Ather Energy’s scooters start at Rs 1.13 lakh, as listed on two-wheeler portal bikedekho. com. The premium range of the Ather 450x costs Rs 1.32 lakh. In January 2020, Bajaj Auto launched the electric avatar of its Chetak scooter at an ex-showroom price range beginning Rs 1 lakh. TVS Motor, which launched its iQube e-scooter in July, reportedly has an on-road price of around Rs 1.23 lakh. There have been other start-ups in this space, such as Tork Motors (around since 2009), UltraViolette, Orxa Energies and Emflux Motors, but they have yet to launch any vehicle on a commercial scale.

EV brand Chetak

Manufactured by Bajaj Auto

Price (ex-showroom) Around Rs 2 lakh