How to convert old petrol scooter into an electric?

Petrol scooters have been the most preferred scooters in the market for years. Activa, Access, Jupiter & Dio has dominated the market share and continued to be the top-selling scooter brand in India. Millions of petrol scooters are running on roads as two-wheelers are the most preferred way of travelling in India. Honda Activa has better mileage than other scooter brands and its selling price is in the mid-range, thus making it the favourite choice of many Indians.

If you already own an old petrol scooter and planning to buy a new electric scooter then we recommend you convert Honda Activa to electric as it is more economical than buying a new electric scooter. This can be achieved by retrofitting where the internal combustion(IC) engine and petrol tanks are replaced by an electric propulsion kit(EPK) and battery respectively. However, there are certain prerequisites to get this done and they will be discussed later in this article.

Petrol scooter market facts

There were 38,17,764 petrol scooters sold in FY2021 and the sale of the Honda Activa model was the highest with 19,39,640 Honda Activa units sold, in fact, its market share was 50.8% in FY2021. Around 62% of India’s total petrol is consumed by two-wheelers.

Electric scooters in India

In 2021, a total of 2,33,971 electric scooter units were sold registering 132% growth with a 61% share in the sale of high-speed electric scooters.

The above data says that the sale of electric scooters in India is quite impressive and surprising but it is far behind the sale of petrol scooters especially the Honda Activa scooter which has dominated the market for more than the last 7 years. There are millions of Honda Activa scooters in India and converting these old petrol Honda Activa scooters into electric can bring relief to the environment by cutting fossil fuel consumption.

Electric vehicles are efficient, quiet, and eco-friendly, they are the future mode of travel. On the other hand, petrol scooters emit gases, create noise, and are less efficient compared to electric scooters. The bicycles, scooters, cars, buses, trains will be fully powered by electric energy in the coming years. Petrol scooters and bikes will be replaced by electric scooters and bikes. Electric vehicle(EV) technology is expanding and manufacturers are focusing on launching electric vehicles at affordable prices but we have to wait for more years to witness the electric vehicle revolution.

In wake of alarming global warming and climatic change, we need to cut vehicle emissions by replacing petrol or diesel-powered vehicles with clean energy and electric vehicles are most favourable. But replacing millions of conventional vehicles is not that easy.

In order to replace petrol scooters with electric scooters completely, the EV industry should focus on either of two important things that are launching electric scooters at an affordable price or retrofitting the scooter. Since the high cost of an electric vehicle is due to its high manufacturing cost and battery cost and EV technology is in a more advancing stage right now retrofitting the scooter will be the urgent solution. The old petrol scooters in India majority of which are Honda Activa should be retrofitted with an electric conversion kit with a battery.

How much does it cost to convert Activa to electric?

Buying a high-speed brand new electric scooter costs about ₹1 lakh whereas retrofitting by converting Honda Activa to electric can be achieved at one-third the price of a brand new scooter. The EV conversion kit for Activa, Dio, Jupiter & Access and other scooter brands developed by the Starya Mobility costs between ₹55k. This Honda Activa conversion kit helps common people access EV technology at an affordable price and boosts the electric vehicle industry. Instead of trashing the old Activa petrol scooter, it can be converted into a pure electric scooter.

How Honda Activa is converted to electric scooter?

Converting the existing Activa scooter is worth buying a new scooter because it can be done at just ₹55k. Prior to converting a petrol scooter to electric, it is inspected thoroughly in order to check its eligibility for conversion. In the first step, the IC engine of the petrol scooter is removed, and then the petrol tank follows the removal of other components. Then the IC engine and fuel tanks are replaced by the Activa electric conversion kit with battery respectively. Later circuit configurations are done and then the electric vehicle is tested for its performance and security. Once the vehicle passes the necessary tests it is ready for green number plate registration by RTO.

Prerequisite for converting Honda Activa to electric:

1. The scooter should be a gearless IC engine petrol scooter

Starya Mobility is authorized to convert only gearless IC engine petrol scooters to electric

2. The warranty should be void

Yes, the warranty of your petrol scooter should be expired in order to retrofit or modify the vehicle configuration.

3. All the essential vehicle components should be in working condition

Vehicle parts such as headlights, tail lights, indicators, mirrors, shock absorbers, etc should be in working condition and there should be no major dents on the body.

4. Fitness certificate should be valid

The fitness certificate of the vehicle should be valid in order to convert the Honda Activa to electric.

Benefits of converting Honda Activa to electric

There is no need to scrap the old Activa scooter and buy a new electric scooter instead go for RTO approved electric conversion kit for Activa that will give a powerful performance. Ignore the anxiety of the high selling price of a new electric scooter retrofitting the scooter is a new trend to make EV technology more accessible to the common people. Below are some benefits of converting Honda Activa to electric

• Cut the running cost - The running cost of the same scooter is close to ₹4 per km but after conversion to electric the running cost drops which are approx ₹0.92 per km.

• Zero-emission - The electric scooter operates purely on a battery that doesn't release any harmful gases.

• No noise pollution - The electric scooter operates silently, hence no noise pollution.

• Lightweight - Since bulk parts such as the engine, tank filled with fuel, silencer, and other mechanical parts are removed and the scooter becomes lighter.

• Huge annual saving - With low running costs the owner saves a lot of money and gets a good return on investment.

• Green number plate - After conversion to an electric scooter it gets a green number plate which is an identification of an electric vehicle.