Hero’s Super Splendor versus electric motorcycle Tork 6X: Here’s how much money an EV can save in the long run

• Tork 6X is likely to be ₹55,056 more expensive than Super Splendor, but will save ₹58,364 in running costs over 50,000 kms.
  
• The users can breakeven on the higher initial costs of Tork 6X in 4 years.
  
• Users can breakeven from the higher costs of electric scooter Ather S340 in 1.6 years, when compared to Honda Activa.
  
• Electric scooters have become cheaper than petrol scooters as the life of lithium ion battery is 15 years while that of a petrol scooter is 10 years.
  

Fewer Indians are open to the idea of hybrid or electric vehicles. Apart from trying the unknown, consumers are held back by fewer models along with prohibitive costs of electrical vehicles. The good news is that the costs are coming down.

While the purchase price tag is high, the government eases this burden with incentives. In addition, the running costs of an electric vehicle, particularly two-wheelers, can provide enormous cost savings.

Here is some math to support the theory.

Tork 6X versus Super Splendor

A report by Kotak Institutional Equities pegged the top most purchased motor bike Hero’s Super Splendor against a popular electric vehicle Tork 6X.

Tork 6X is likely to be ₹55,056 more expensive than Super Splendor, even after adding in government incentives. But, it will also save running costs to the user by ₹58,364 in over 50,000 kms.

Electric bike users can breakeven on the higher initial costs of Tork 6X in 4.7 years, on an average.

If due to some reason the government decides to rescind the benefits, the breakeven time can move up to 6.6 years.

There is something else that will weigh in favour of electric vehicles. The new BS-VI emission norms will kick in next year and make petrol bikes costlier by ₹7,000. It will truncate the time taken to breakeven to four years.

However, the breakthrough in ownership of electric vehicles will be in 2030 when Kotak expects the electric battery costs to fall.

“Currently the shift towards electric bikes is not significant because of lack of product availability in the market while the bigger players like Hero, Honda, Bajaj and TVS Motors haven’t launched electric bikes. However most of these players are planning to launch electric bikes over the next 2-3 years,” the Kotak report said.

Electric Scooters to be cheaper

Scooter users might find it much easier to shift to electric vehicles as the total cost of ownership tilts heavily in favour of them.

Considering increased price of normal scooters after new emission norms kick in, the breakeven between electric scooter Ather S340 and the most sold scooter, Honda Activa is pegged at 1.6 years.

Also, the life of an electric scooter is much higher than a petrol scooter, making it a wiser option in the long run. “In terms of cost of ownership, electric scooters have become cheaper than petrol scooters as the life of lithium ion battery is 15 years while the life of a petrol scooter is 10 years,” the Kotak report says.

Yet, electric bikes are yet to catch the fancy of the market. But, the shift to electric vehicles is inevitable.

“The automobile industry is at the cusp of a revolution with adoption of cleaner vehicles (electric and plug-in hybrid) over petrol/diesel vehicles. We expect 28% of automobiles (except commercial vehicles) in India to shift to EVs by 2029-30 with scooters and three-wheelers adopting electric much faster than other segments,” the report said.