In India Electric scooters surge in sales, offering an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and efficient way.
However electric scooters also require maintenance in some cases, and one of the significant concerns for owners is the replacement cost of battery.
In this post, we’ll discuss why electric scooter batteries need replacement when they need to be replaced, and what will be the cost of replacement.
Why Do Electric Scooters Need Battery Replacement?
Battery Degradation
Just like the battery in your smartphone, the battery in an electric scooter degrades over time. A Long run of a scooter causes battery degradation, which lowers capacity and overall performance.
This deterioration worsens over time, reducing the scooter’s efficiency and range.
Cycle Life
Electric scooter batteries have a limited number of charge cycles they can go through before their capacity significantly diminishes. A charge cycle depends on different types of batteries used in electric scooters.
Overcharging and Discharging Completely
Mishandling the battery by overcharging it or letting it discharge completely can lead to premature battery failure.
It’s essential to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for charging and discharging cycles.
When Electric Scooter Needs Battery Replacement
Determining when an electric scooter needs a battery replacement depends on various factors, including the battery’s quality, usage patterns, and More.
Age of Battery
Electric scooter batteries may need replacement after 3 to 5 years. This is a rough estimate and also depends on the uses of scooters.
Range
Another indicator for battery replacement is the scooter’s range. When you notice a significant drop in the scooter’s range on a full charge, it could be a sign that the battery is nearing the end of its life.
Charge Time
If the battery takes significantly longer to charge than it did when it was new, it could be a sign of degradation.
Less Power
When your scooter feels less powerful, is struggling to climb hills, or slowly accelerates, it might be due to a deteriorating battery.
Battery Health
Electric scooters often come with diagnostic systems that can indicate battery health. If you consistently receive bad battery health notifications on a scooter. It’s a strong indicator that it needs replacement.
Electric Scooter Battery Replacement Cost?
India’s top electric two-wheelers are Ola Electric, TVS Motors, and Ather Energy with sales of 1,50,861, 92,102, and 68,326 till August 11 2023 respectively.
For Ola, it’s the S1 Pro model, for Ather 450x model, and for TVS, the iQube model is the highest selling.
in this article, we will explore the battery replacement cost of India’s top three selling electric scooters Ola S1 pro, Tvs Iqube and Ather 450X.
All these three models come with the following specifications:
Features | Ola S1 PRO | TVS iQube | Ather 450x |
True Range | 170Km/charge (Eco) | 100Km/charge (Eco) | 105Km/charge (Eco) |
0-40 km/h | 2.9 sec. | 4.2 sec. | 3.3 sec. |
Top Speed | 116 km/h | 78 km/h | 90 km/h |
Peak Power | 8.5 kW | 4.4 kW | 6.4 kW |
Battery Capacity | 4 kWh | 3.4 kWh | 3.7 kWh |
Charging Time | 6 hrs 30 mins | 4 hrs 30 mins | 5 hrs 40 mins |
Warranty | 3 years with unlimited km | 3 years/50,000 km whichever is earlier | 3 years/30,000 km whichever is earlier |
Price with FAME II Subsidy | 1,39,999/- | 1,41,533/- | 1,46,664/- |
Ola S1 Pro Battery Replacement Cost
Ola Electric is importing NMC-based Li-ion batteries from LG Chem (South Korea) for the S1 Pro scooter. Its 4 kWh battery pack is made of a total of 224 cells and the battery is in curved shape having an IP67 protection (dust & water) rating.
The Ola Scooter’s battery is covered by a 3-year warranty. If there are any manufacturing defects in the battery during this period, it will be taken care of by Ola free of charge.
This warranty can be further extended to two more years by using the optional warranty package. However, Ola is confident that its battery pack will not face challenges till 7 years.
Ola is also expecting that due to improving battery technology, the cost of battery packs will be reduced in the coming years.
Currently, the Ola S1 Pro battery replacement cost is around Rs. 87,298.
TVS iQube Battery Replacement Cost
TVS iQube battery pack is non-removable and its capacity is 3.4 kWh with an IP67 protection rating.
The company provides 3 years/ 50,000 km whichever is an earlier warranty. The battery pack is made of NMC based Li-ion battery. The replacement cost is not specified by the company.
However, the media sources expect the battery cost to be around 40-50% of the scooter cost which is around Rs. 56,613- 70,766/-
Ather 450X Battery Replacement Cost
Ather 450x battery pack comes with a capacity of 3.7 kWh and with an IP67 protection rating. Its battery pack is made of 21700 (21mm diameter & 70mm height) type of cylindrical NMC-based Li-ion cells and the total number of cells is 168 in the battery pack.
The battery pack is manufactured by Ather itself. Ather provides 3 years/ 30,000 km whichever is an earlier warranty with a 70% state of health performance guarantee on its battery.
This warrant can be extended to 5 years/60,000 km whichever is an earlier warranty by subscribing to its Pro package.
Ather 450x battery replacement cost is Rs. 60,000