The 18th century was the industrial revolution and the 21st century is the technological revolution where rapid technological advancements can be witnessed. Internet of Things(IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence(AI), semiconductor, electric vehicles, genetic engineering, tissue culture, robotic surgery, 5G, machine language, data analytics, space tourism, space exploration, contactless payment, driverless vehicles, solar power, hyperloop, cryptocurrency, and many more are some of the promising technologies that have been revolutionizing the technological sectors. Although each of them has its own limitations and disadvantages they are making people’s lives better, more efficient, and help reduce environmental impacts on their usage which means they do not cause more pollution and do not harm other living species.
The latest trend indicates that Electric Vehicles (EVs) are soon going to replace conventional petrol or diesel-powered vehicles. The Government of India has already been concerned about the increasing level of air pollution because more than 25 Indian cities are on the list of 100 most polluted cities of the world. Various policy changes have been made in order to support the EV industry. Since India is a highly populated country its dependency on fossil fuel consumption needs to be reduced and cut emission by promoting the production of electric vehicles economically. The Government has set a target of making up 30% of new sales of electric vehicles by 2030 and that can be achieved by either completely producing new electric vehicles or by converting petrol scooter to electric scooter.
But we should not forget that every technology has its own limitations and drawbacks but its advantages and benefits favor us to use it. With no doubt, we can say that electric-powered scooters are going to be the most common two-wheeler transport vehicle in the future as they favor more than petrol-powered scooters. But still, most of the people have confused and do not know much difference between an electric scooter and petrol scooter, this article aims to give detailed information about both scooters through a detailed comparison and benefits of petrol scooter converted to electric.
The pistons in the petrol engine create a rotational motion due to the internal combustion of the petrol and this rotational motion drives the vehicle. This doesn’t happen directly but a differential output energy transfer is attained with the help of a gearbox. Output torque and speed are the key factors and both are inversely proportional to each other which means if speed is increasing the torque will be gradually decreasing.
A study states that the average passenger vehicle emits about 404 grams of CO2 per mile traveled, assuming this vehicle runs 10,000 km in a year the total CO2 emission will be 2510.3 kg, and here we only calculated carbon dioxide, not other greenhouse gases. This fossil fuel-powered vehicle is contributing more to the greenhouse gases and the increase in the sales of these vehicles adds a tremendous amount of greenhouse gases to the environment, this should be cut right?
Now think if we modify the scooter configuration and make it run on a powerful motor satisfying all the requirements like differential energy output, high initial torque, and variable speed. Isn’t it a great idea that we are cutting the emission of greenhouse gases? But who cares about the environment when it is costlier to afford electric vehicles. In fact, electric vehicles give you a good return considering the long term, let us know how.
For a vehicle, the total cost can be divided into three parts that are; initial investment cost, running cost, and maintenance cost.
The initial investment cost is the amount paid to the dealer at the time of purchase that includes all taxes, running cost is the spending on the fuel whereas maintenance cost is the spending on maintenance or repair of the vehicle.
Since maintenance cost is inevitable, we shall eliminate it in our comparison, we will consider initial investment and running cost.
Key parts of an electric scooter - motor and battery.
Initial Investment
Looking at the current market price in metro cities like Bengaluru a 125 cc petrol scooter costs around ₹ 95,000/- at the showroom.
The Starya offers two types of petrol engine to electric-powered vehicle conversion
Electric Propulsion Kit including battery - ₹ 65,000/-
Electric Propulsion Kit with battery on rent - ₹ 35,000/-
In the second case, Starya offers high-quality Lithium-ion batteries for rent at a nominal price.
So you save at least ₹ 30,000/- and ₹ 60,000/- in both cases respectively on the initial investment, think this before buying a new petrol scooter as this makes a big difference.
What is Electric Propulsion Kit (EPK)?
EPK is a retrofit kit designed to convert petrol scooter into electric. The EPK includes permanent magnet synchronous motor(PMSM), controller and transmission system. It is the replacement of an internal combustion engine and is also called petrol to electric conversion kit.
Running Cost
Running cost has been the biggest challenge for commuters of petrol scooters due to the fluctuating fuel prices. Let us look at some calculations;
A petrol scooter has an average mileage of 30 KM per liter of petrol burnt.
Assume, if a petrol scooter runs for 2000 KM per month it will burn 66.7 liters of petrol. This is done by dividing distance by milage, 2000 ÷ 30 = 66.7.
If the petrol price per liter is taken as ₹ 100 then the total monthly running cost for 2000 KM will be (petrol price) x (total petrol burnt) i.e 100*66.7 = ₹ 6,670.
Whereas (EPK + Battery) has a running cost of ₹ 340/- and (EPK + Rent Battery) has a running cost of ₹ 1,840/- for a 2,000 KM distance.
There is a huge difference in the running cost; the petrol scooter has almost 20 times greater running cost than (EPK + Battery) and 3.63 times greater than (EPK + Rent Battery) facility.
Annual Calculation:
Assuming petrol scooter runs 2,000 KM monthly that is 2,400 KM in a year. The total running cost will be (monthly running cost) x 12 = 6,670*12 = ₹ 80,040/-
Whereas annual running cost for
(EPK + Battery) = ₹ 4,080/-
(EPK + Rent Battery) = ₹ 22,080/-
Annual saving with electric scooter:
(EPK + Battery) = ₹ 75,960/-
(EPK + Rent Battery) = ₹ 57,960/-
Considering the electricity cost utilized for charging the battery we get respective running costs;
EPK + Battery = Rs. 0.17 / Km
EPK + Rent Battery = Rs. 0.92 / Km
Petrol Scooter = Petrol Price / Mileage = 100/30 = Rs. 3.33/ Km
Advantages of the electric scooter over petrol scooter
1. Electric scooters have negligible noise and vibration
Since there is no combustion the motor operation is silent with negligible noise and vibration.
2. Fast pickup
The electric scooters have a fast pick speed. Starya’s electric propulsion system is designed and tested to achieve 0 to 40 kmph in 3.7 seconds.
3. Electric scooters are light weight
Since electric vehicles do not have other heavy components other than motor and battery, this makes electric vehicles lighter when compared to petrol scooter.
4. Pollution-free
Electric scooters do not emit harmful gases unlike petrol scooters and this makes the scooter clean and environment friendly.
5. Cost-saving scooter
As discussed earlier electric scooters save money in terms of running costs.
The design and the performance looks good. I think if you provide with disc breaks on both wheels it will be safe and good option as the torque by electric motor is very much high that IC engine. Therefore I am looking for this Disc break option on both wheels as it will increase riders safety.