Electric scooters are becoming a common sight. The electric scooter segment is populated with established players such as TVS and Bajaj and newcomers like Keeway and Battre. With more options to choose from comes confusion. Should you choose the new and evolving electric scooters or go for the tried and tested petrol models? In this report, we compare initial cost, fuel costs, along with service and maintenance costs to gauge which one is cheaper to run, an electric scooter or a petrol scooter.

Initial Cost

It's common knowledge that Electric vehicles are costlier than their ICE counterparts. For example, the Honda Activa 125 and Honda Activa E, prices of which are mentioned below:

The initial cost of the Activa e is higher than the petrol counterpart by nearly 22,000. Do note that some states offer tax benefits on electric scooters. Depending on your state of residence, you might be free from paying road tax and even exempt from toll costs.

Fuel Cost

Generally, electric scooters are cheaper to run than petrol alternatives. Factoring in the cost of electricity in Delhi and fuel costs, we came to the following calculations:

*Electricity cost Rs 8/ kWh

*Average public charging cost- Rs 6 /kWh

The above numbers take into account a 100 km journey every day (just to make calculations easier). The electric scooter in this scenario is being charged both at home and at a public station equally.

The cost of running an electric scooter is just 10 percent of a petrol scooter. An electric scooter will make up for the additional initial cost in less than a year. Keep in mind that petrol costs are rising every day, and the charging efficiency of the battery will start to deteriorate over the years.

Petrol scooters, although costlier to run, offer convenience. There are more petrol pumps than battery charging stations, and they are faster to refill. The choice to buy an electric scooter is harder to justify in rural areas that are prone to frequent power cuts and lack charging infrastructure.

Read More: Best Electric Scooters in India with Longest Range

Maintenance and Service Costs

The second major price of ownership is the service costs. Electric scooters have fewer moving parts, and hence the repair costs are far lower than a petrol scooter. This also drops the service cost of electric scooters, but they do have a higher labour cost.

The highest repair cost for an electric scooter is battery replacement. These can be as high as 30 percent of the vehicle’s price and can increase the cost of ownership in case it needs to be replaced. To alleviate this fear, companies offer battery warranties which offer a free replacement of the faulty power source.

In a long-term ownership, parts will fail and replacing them will become a necessity. With fewer parts to break down, the maintenance cost of an electric scooter will end up being less than a petrol one.

Petrol Vs Electric Scooter: Conclusion

There are multiple reasons that your next scooter should be an electric one. The overall cost of ownership is significantly less compared to their fossil-fueled counterparts. They also have a lower environmental impact and reduce your carbon footprint.

However, they have a fault. Electric scooters are not as convenient as petrol scooters. Charging times for electric scooters are a hindrance, and having to plan around it an annoyance. Having a charging station at your home or at your workplace may not make this a big issue, but the convenience of refuelling a petrol scooter cannot be matched. Some companies offer replaceable batteries with their models and swap stations, but they are not widespread yet. You should make a decision weighing all these pros and cons of each option and decide.

We also compared the ownership costs of owning a petrol and electric four-wheeler, which you can read about here.