Okinawa Praise electric scooter launched in India; Costlier than Honda Activa

Okinawa has launched the Praise electric scooter in India. It is priced at Rs. 59,889 – ex-showroom Delhi. While this price makes it much more costlier than the Honda Activa, the Praise has the longest range for any e-scooter in India, with its batteries giving it a range of up to 200 Kms. The scooter can hit a top speed of 75 Kph, which is more than sufficient for Indian conditions. The Praise is the first electric scooter that is practical for everyday use, both in terms of battery range and top speed.

Bookings for the scooter will open from 24th November, at a booking amount of Rs. 2,000. Okinawa claims that operating the scooter will cost just 10 paise per kilometer, which means that the Praise will beat every other petrol powered scooter in India when it comes to running costs. Even maintenance cost is very low, with the company claiming that it will take Rs. 750 to service the Praise once in every 15,000 Kms. Other automatic scooters that have regular petrol, four stroke engines need servicing once in 5,000 Kms.

The Praise has a very impressive feature set. LED headlamp, turn indicators and tail lamp, a fully digital instrument cluster with indications for different modes such as Economy, Sporty and Turbo, Telescopic front suspension, Twin gas-charged rear suspension, side stand with anti-theft sensor, Alloy wheels with tubeless tyres, a mobile charging point, a keyless start start system, ‘Find My Scooter’ location tracker device and Electronic Assist Braking System. Many of these features have never been offered on an Indian scooter before, leave alone electric scooters. Taking these features, battery range, low running and service costs into consideration, it seems like the Okinawa Praise e-scooter is good value for money. The quality of service back-up remains unclear for now.