Twenty-Two Motors launched its first electric scooter, iFlow for Rs 90,000 on-road Delhi, without battery
Twenty-Two Motors in association with Taiwan based Kymco motors have launched its first electric scooter in India, the iFlow. 22Kymco iFlow is price at Rs 90,000 on-road Delhi. The scooter comes with Kymco’s Ionex swappable battery solution. iFlow retains most of its design language from the model which was shown in the AutoExpo last year.
22Kymco iFlow gets full digital instrument cluster will all the important information required by any rider. The console has advanced Bluetooth as well as cloud connectivity. An important geo-fencing feature will let you track your scooter via an app. Complete LED lighting is provided on the iFlow including headlight, tail light, and turn indicators.
Powering the scooter is a 2.1 kW Bosch electric motor which is fitted on the hub of the rear wheel. The battery packs are supplied by the Kymco with Ionex swapping technology. A single full charge in the battery will take you about 80 km. As the scooter has place for two batteries, you can get a total range of 150 to 160 km before completely running out of charge.
Previously, 22 motors said that the Flow scooter also has a fixed internal battery which has reserved charge to take you 20 km in emergency situations. This remains unclear whether iFlow still has that internal battery.
22Kymco iFlow has regenerative braking system
However, there is a problem, iFlow does not come with any battery. The battery pack has to be leased separately from the scooter. The cost of one battery pack is Rs 500 per month, if you lease two batteries, it will set you back by Rs 1,000 per month.
Coming to the battery swapping, it will be charged Rs 50 for a single swap. This will definitely reduce the downtime faced while charging but turns out to be an expensive affair.
Running cost Analysis
Let’s say, you leased single Ionex battery and you travel around 50 km per day. This amounts to 1500 km in a month and if you swapped battery even for 10 times, you have already spent Rs 500 in that month. So the total cost, at the end of the month is Rs 1000 (Rs 500 for the leasing charge and Rs 500 for 10 swappings). Not to mention extra electricity cost you incurred for charging the battery at your home.
Running cost turns out to be 70 paise per km. This is when you travel 1500 km in a month.
Let’s see this scenario if you did not swap the battery in a month and still traveled 1500 km. You would end up paying Rs 500 lease amount and electricity cost (whatever that amount be). You running cost will come down to 45 paise per kilometer.
BUT
If you do not use the iFlow electric scooter for more than 500 km in a month, your running cost will be very high at 1 Rupee per kilometer. This is near to some ultra-efficient petrol-powered motorcycles like splendor which returns 70 kmpl. The running cost for splendor, when ridden with a soft wrist, comes out to be humble Rs 1.1 per km (considering petrol cost to be Rs 75 per liter)
Verdict
The intention of this article is to give you information about the running cost of new 22Kymco iFlow electric scooter. At Rs 90,000, the scooter should atleast come with one battery installed in the scooter. Or the price of the scooter should be reduced. My best bet is that the company should cut its battery leasing cost to half. At Rs 250 per month and Rs 25 to Rs 30 per battery swap, the scooter looks justified.
Also Read: Why Electric vehicles will not solve India’s problem – Analysis
22 Motors is targeting 6 metro cities in the starting phase. The Delhi alone will get 14 Ionex battery swapping station which will allow you to swap a battery in just 30 seconds or so. However, the battery module charges up in just an hour if you plan to charge it at your home.
But Why Petrol Scooters?
I do not understand why Kymco launched petrol powered scooters in India and that too at such a high cost. The Like 200 retro scooter is actually powered by a 163cc engine and is priced at Rs 1.3 lakh ex-showroom. This was not at all necessary because no one is going to buy a scooter at that price. Even Vespa and Aprilia are struggling to push its sales numbers due to the high cost of its scooters.
Another scooter X-town 300 will be sales dud for Kymco as it costs staggering Rs 2.3 lakh ex-showroom. Powering X-town 300i is a liquid-cooled, 276cc engine which makes 24bhp and 25Nm torque. The maxi scooter weighs in at 200 kg which makes it heaviest of all scooters on sale in India. The fuel tank is 12.5 liter to go long distances with lesser fuel stops.
Ride Safe, Ride Hard, and always wear a helmet while riding. Stay Tuned for more from the world of motorcycling.
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