t’s a 3-wheeler that can be converted into a 2-wheeler and vice versa in around 3 minutes.

Hero MotoCorp showcased a rather unique concept called the 'Surge S32' at Hero World 2024 last month. It is part electric scooter and part 3-wheeler.

The Surge S32 is based on an Advanced Modular Smart Electric Platform (AMCEP). It’s a 3-wheeler that can be converted into a 2-wheeler and vice versa in around 3 minutes.

Both vehicles have their own electric motor and battery pack but can be controlled using one set of controls. The 3-wheeler has an 11 kWh battery that powers a 10 kW electric motor. It can travel at up to 50 km/h and can carry up to 500 kg. The 2-wheeler uses a 3.5 kWh battery powering a 3 kW motor. It has a top speed of 60 km/h.

While the S32 is still in its concept phase, the company has been working with the government to create a new vehicle category called L2-5.

Surge EV is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hero MotoCorp.

Ola’s new e-scooter looks barebones and has a utilitarian design, unlike the S1.

Ola Electric is developing a new electric scooter that could be aimed at the B2B segment in India. The company has already filed a design patent that reveals some details of the upcoming model.

Ola’s new e-scooter looks barebones and has a utilitarian design, unlike the S1. The patent image reveals a tubular chassis with a telescopic suspension at the front and conventional shock absorbers at the rear. 

The e-scooter has a small front fairing with an exposed handlebar, a flat footboard and a single seat. The image also reveals a tiny instrument console.

Technical details of the new e-scooter are still unknown. However, it might get swappable batteries powering a hub-mounted electric motor.

Uber and Rapido offer similar bike taxi services in select cities.

Ola Mobility has launched its new e-bike taxi service in Delhi and Hyderabad. The company will deploy 10,000 electric scooters in both cities in the coming months.

Ola claims that its e-bike taxi service is the most affordable way to travel within the city. An Ola e-bike taxi ride will cost Rs 25 for 5 km, Rs 50 for 10 km and Rs 75 for a distance of 15 km.

Ola launched its e-bike taxi service in Bangalore on a pilot basis in September 2023. Within three months, the company saw a 40% market expansion, with over 1.75 million rides completed to date.

Ola has set up 200 charging stations in Bangalore. The company also plans to set up an extensive charging network in all cities where it plans to operate in.

Uber and Rapido offer similar bike taxi services in select cities.

The Kinetic E-Luna uses a 2 kWh battery pack, which offers a claimed range of 110 km.

Kinetic Green is gearing up to launch the E-Luna in India soon. While bookings are set to open on January 26, the electric moped has already been listed on some e-commerce websites, with prices ranging from 71,990 and Rs 74,990 (ex-showroom).

As expected, the Kinetic E-Luna looks similar to the ICE-powered version of yesteryear. The E-Luna has a utilitarian design that appears pretty basic. It has a circular headlamp integrated into a square housing and a rectangular instrument console.

The e-moped has a 2-piece flat seat set at a height of 760 mm and a raised handlebar. It is equipped with a telescopic front fork and has dual shock absorbers at the rear. It rides on 16-inch spoked wheels.

The E-Luna is powered by a hub-mounted electric motor that generates 22 Nm of peak torque. It comes with a 2 kWh battery pack, which offers a claimed range of 110 km and can be charged in 4 hours. The E-Luna weighs just 96 kg and has a top speed of around 50-52 km/h.

Source: Amazon

The Benling e-scooter had caught fire in February last year after its battery exploded.

A Consumer Commission in Telangana has ordered Binling India and its dealer to pay a sum of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the owner of an e-scooter that had caught fire.

The complainant had purchased a Benling electric scooter in April 2021. It is said to have caught fire in February of last year after its battery exploded.

The owner asked the company to either replace the scooter or refund the original price of the scooter along with 18% interest per annum. However, neither Benling India nor its dealer responded to him despite filing a complaint. Hence, the owner decided to approach the consumer court and sought compensation of Rs 13.5 lakh and Rs 40,000 in legal expenses. 

Notices sent to Benling India by the Consumer Commission also went unanswered. The court noted that the manufacturer had failed to identify the cause of the incident. It also held the company liable for the defective product under the Consumer Protection Act.

Source: Bar and Bench

The biggest benefit of this electric scooter is the removable battery. Also, the EV can run on just one battery while the other is being charged.

BHPian m2badri recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I bought a Hero Vida V1 Pro yesterday after going through the reviews here and on YT as well. I thought I would share my experience - buying as well as riding the electric scooter and will try to address any questions that others might be interested in.

First, the pics of the Hero Vida V1 Pro that I bought -

I bought this from Pheonix Motors in Hyderabad (Hi-tech city). The purchase experience was good. The staff were knowledgeable and briefed about the product reasonably well. The reviews really helped to fill in the gaps of the experience center staff. They were renovating their showroom, so most of the demos and discussions happened in the cellar.

The experience center staff were very willing to provide multiple test drives. Since my office was nearby, I dropped in to check the vehicle and the test drive was provided immediately. I was wow-ed by the smoothness of the drive and noiseless motor - my first time driving an EV and that might be the reason for the wow factor!

I traded in my 10-year-old Bajaj Avenger 220 cc - which I had very sparingly used - 8800 kms in 10 years! It was mostly for small drives and for grocery pick-up. Only once did I drive this on a long drive to Ananthagiri Hills - Thanks to prodding by my brother-in-law who has a RE Interceptor!

I believe I got a decent sale price - it was 27500 Rs for the vehicle and 5000 Rs for the exchange bonus. It was 28 k but they later reduced 1 k since I forgot to renew my insurance (expired in Apr 2023 - my bad!).

Here are the pics of my Bajaj Avenger 220 CC - still looks great and is in very good condition.

Besides this, I received Rs 6.5k as cash bonus - Year end offer was going on. I couldn't get the loyalty bonus (7.5k) and corporate (2.5k) - for some weird reason, they didn't have my company listed as corporate.

There was an offer for Extended Battery Warranty through Acko for 2 more years - so I have 5 years and 60000 kms of battery warranty covered for this vehicle. The cost of this was around 8.5k (came free due to the YE offer).

There was a free subscription offer for the first 6 months - some of the connected features that come along with the vehicle - worth Rs 1250.

Overall, I paid around 1.20 lakhs after trading in my Bajaj Avenger and got this one. The insurance was around Rs 6.6k and around 4k for handling, registration and other stuff. I took a battery charger carrying case (Rs 315 - worth buying this one from the showroom - makes the charger very portable and easy to carry) and a side footrest for Rs 1.2k. The build quality was very good, so paid and got it fitted during the delivery of the vehicle.

Now coming to the ride quality, since I have been driving this for 2 days now - The vehicle is very smooth and the acceleration in Eco mode is adequate for solo driving. I live around Banjara hills therefore there are many ups (gradient - big and small) and downs, so I switch to the Ride mode to get some extra power.

I have observed that the Eco mode gives the maximum range but the display keeps changing and I think, it would be better not to pay attention to it. The ride mode can take you to a speed of more than 50 kmph very easily and should be used on open roads.

The cruise control on this vehicle works like a charm and I used it in most of my drive. I frankly didn't expect this to work as well as it does in cars - but I was mistaken, it works flawlessly. It's just that you have to learn as to how to engage (use it) and then it would be super easy on open stretches - believe me, it takes the strain from giving the accelerator. You would love this feature if you start to use it.

The instrument panel is well laid out and the UI is super easy to understand. I haven't started to use the Vida App through my mobile, since the activation would happen only after the vehicle is registered. I have seen a good number of videos to understand the app and the features that this offers - hopefully, I will start to use them once the activation is done after the registration.

The engine start / boot opening buttons are placed very closely and you will almost end up opening the boot all the time. One sore thing is that there is no owner or user manual (hard copy) provided and a link is provided for the buyer to familiarize with the controls and functions. This doesn't have pictures and everything is textual, therefore someone who hasn't seen the videos would find it very hard to follow. My suggestion would be to pay enough attention during the demo / delivery or see YT videos. There are a few ones which are really good to help us understand the controls and features. It really helped me a lot - more than the inputs that were provided by the showroom staff.

Another pain point is the closing of the boot - you will get used to it to know the knack to close/lock this and until such time, this would be a frustrating thing.

The biggest benefit of this EV is the removable battery. I stay in an apartment and don't have a charging point (a 5 amp switch is enough), therefore this was the only EV that suited my needs. The other benefit is that the EV can run on one battery, while the other is being charged - but the preference is to run it with both batteries - for both power and range. I think, the range for me in the last two days is around 100 to 110 kms and this keeps fluctuating therefore I am not going to pay attention to this.

Believe me, it's better to look at the battery % rather than the range - since the difference between sports and eco mode is around 35% range loss. Even when you are in Eco or Ride mode, you can accelerate more if required and the vehicle allows an automatic switch over to Sports mode for 30 seconds - will be very useful when you need a surge of power to overtake. This is a very thoughtful feature - though I would recommend a leisurely drive which you would enjoy for sure!

The touch panel is very responsive and I like all the details that are available now. One thing to include would be the Cruise speed set by the driver - this isn't shown on the display and you have to look at the speed to understand that it's the cruising speed and just like in our cars, you can increase and decrease the cruise speed by 2 kmph. There is a bit of a learning curve on this since you will invariably look at the handlebar (right) to fiddle through the multiple switches before you get it right.

There are two trip meters - very useful info - distance travelled / kms covered and average speed are available. The overall ODO is also displayed which is good to have.

In summary, the display panel is good, responsive and has most of the information that you would require. It's big (adequate) 7 inches TFT. There are after-market screen guards available on Amazon and there is a video on YT if you want to learn to fix this on the TFT panel.

In Hyderabad, there aren't many Vida charging stations, but the good thing is that Ather stations can be used for charging Hero Vida - some standarization of the charging ports is very good for customers as well as the operators as well. I have heard that none of the users have tested the Ather charging station. I shall check this out in a few weeks and will add an update accordingly.

So far the experience has been good and I have started to like the vehicle. My usage is very limited but I am planning to use it extensively during the weekends.

I have tried to cover as much information as possible. I will be glad to answer any questions or provide additional information on Hero Vida if any of the forum members are interested to know.

One important information - might be useful though the YE offers would cease to exist as of 31 Dec - nevertheless good to know. The showroom invoice (base price, tax, FAME subsidy) will be different from the invoice that you can download from the Hero Vida portal. I was seeing a difference of 12k and was very concerned & reached out to Vida support. They gave me information to some extent and asked me to work with the dealer. I sat with the dealer and they gave me some explanation, but somehow I feel that it would be good to ask for clarity on the base prices, tax, other charges and FAME II subsidy (should be available until Mar 2024) before you negotiate on insurance, handling charges, support, registration charges etc.

I wasn't aware of this prior and I decided to buy within 2 days (last day of the offer 31 Dec 2023!) but good to be clear before you commit to putting the cheque on the table. I can help to answer any specific questions on this aspect as well - to the best extent that I can.

I will end this review for now.

Thanks for your time and would appreciate any feedback.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Ather Diesel e-scooter will feature a sleek design with a wide and flat seat and a flat footboard.

According to a media report, Ather Energy’s upcoming family scooter is likely to be called Diesel. It will be launched by mid-2024.

Earlier, the Bangalore-based EV maker had confirmed that the company was working on a new electric scooter. CEO Tarun Mehta describes it as a “family scooter”.

Uno Minda is one of the suppliers of Ather Energy. Xabier Eskibel, Head Marketing of 2W Segment at Uno Minda said, “We at Uno Minda Ltd. are proud to be a part of Ather’s ‘Diesel’. The seat is definitely a differentiator with respect to other offerings in the market and ensures that the entire family can enjoy it together.” “It’s been challenging to build it, but the result speaks for itself. Also, the development of stylish lamps will enhance the overall appeal of the scooter. We foresee a strong demand for the family scooter and are gradually ramping up to meet the expected market needs," Eskibel said.

Spy images suggest that the Ather Diesel will feature a sleek design with a wide and flat seat and a flat footboard. It is likely to be equipped with LED lights, a touchscreen instrument console, alloy wheels and a front disc brake.

Source: Business Standard

The electric scooter has many issues and the service is horrible. I'd say get something better like an Ather, TVS or Chetak.

BHPian vivekgk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi,

I am one of those "Early Adopters" a.k.a Test Mules for the new Ola S1 Air. I booked mine in July, paid full price upfront, endured ever-changing delivery timelines, and after a frankly disappointing and lacklustre delivery experience, finally took delivery of my S1 Air on 27th September. It cost me just under 1.38 lacs OTR at Trivandrum, with full cover insurance, the extended warranty and the Ola Care+ package. At the time, it was a good deal considering every other comparable option was more than 1.5 lacs.

Since this was my first EV, I was initially pleasantly surprised. It was smooth, the ride and handling was great, and it had good performance on offer in all modes, considering what it cost. As I was riding a 15-year-old Mahindra Flyte before, this was quite an upgrade in every way. I did find it a bit too tall for my height, but it was otherwise OK. The switchgear was terrible, and the touch screen was occasionally slow to respond, but that I could live with.

The Flies in the Soup

But all was not perfect. I was not getting the promised range. Although the scooter showed 100 kms+ range in NORMAL mode after a full charge, it dropped off very rapidly. It even dropped off abnormally when parked. I'd park it in our office basement in the morning, and come back in the evening to see a 3-5% or more battery drop.

Another issue was that the touch screen would sometimes stop responding, an issue that would usually resolve after a reboot, as instructed by the app. Sometimes though the scooter would seem to get stuck in the reboot loop, with the OLA logo turning off and on repeatedly. This was fixed by the technicians by restarting again.

I also faced an issue where the horn and the switches stopped working. Somehow I managed to get it working after a couple more reboots and got it to a service centre. They checked it, and I caught a mechanic saying how "this one too is having the same issue" to someone over the phone. They said they fixed it and gave the scooter back to me within 20 minutes. That issue hasn't recurred.

Once, I forgot to charge the scooter and set off to the office when there was just about 25% charge remaining. My office is just 3 kms away, so I didn't think it would be an issue. I reached the office with about 20% remaining. However, in the evening, the charge had dropped to about 15%. And to my horror, it jerked and stopped when I tried to start it for the ride home. I called the dealer for assistance, and they said that it should be able to go till at least 2-3% before cutting off. I finally took an Uber home, retrieved the charger, returned to the office and plugged it in at the Security Guards' room where there was an outlet. The next morning, the charge had only gone upto 74% despite it having been plugged in for at least 8 hours. This happened for the next couple of charges, with the screen showing "Unable to Charge" after about 70-75%.

Somehow, this issue disappeared on its own and the scooter started charging to 100% again. I had a mostly uneventful week after that.

A Preview of Things to Come?

Then, a couple of weeks ago, while I was riding in Eco mode with about 30% charge remaining, the scooter lost power in mid-traffic. I checked the screen and it showed something like "0% charge remaining, switching to park mode". Luckily, I was able to pull to the roadside without any incident. The screen now showed 0% battery. I was completely stranded and with no warning. Once I regained my composure, I rebooted the scooter, and Bam, the charge was now showing 23%. I cancelled the trip and limped back home in Eco mode, and put the scooter to charge. I also reported the issue on my Ola app.

The Real Nightmare Begins

A couple of days later, I was about to leave for the office in the morning with a remaining charge of 50%, when the scooter again just jerked and stopped. I tried rebooting, but this time it was of no use. And that's how I was introduced to the nightmare of Ola Service.

I immediately requested emergency assistance, but no one responded even by noon. Finally, I called their customer care, who assured me that they would send out a technician to diagnose the issue. I also called the dealership (who wouldn't give a contact number for the service team) and they too promised to send out a tech. This calling went on for about 3 days, with me calling and begging customer care every day before they sent someone to check out the scooter. In between, I visited the service centre, and the staff there were unable to help as they were understaffed.

I had taken RSA with Ola Care+, which has unlimited pickup and puncture assistance. But the funny thing is that they do not prioritise your pickup if your vehicle is at a safe parking spot or home. While this does make sense, it is frustrating to have to waste several days and repeated calls to customer care for someone to attend to your issue.

The person who came to check out the Scooter confirmed that it was a battery issue, and asked me to inform the service centre to initiate a pickup. Again, I started calling customer care, the dealer, and the service centre repeatedly for another 3 days, before they would initiate a Tow. The Tow service took another couple of days to pick up the Scooter and take it to the service centre.

Since then, I have been calling them every day to ask about the status of the scooter. Initially, they answered the phone and told me that the Battery Pack had to be replaced and that it had not yet been approved. Apparently, 11 S1 Air scooters are at the dealership, waiting for a battery replacement, and it does not seem to be happening any time soon.

So that's the story of how I spent 1.4 lacs on an Ola S1 Air, to use it for about a month (actual use). Now it's at the service centre for God knows how long, and the Service Centre is now refusing to answer my calls or call me back.

Personally, I would advise anyone who is planning to buy an Ola right now to put it off or buy something better, like an Ather, a Chetak, or a TVS. The Gen2 seems to have glaring issues, and Ola seems to have learnt little from their debacle with the Gen 1s. And their service is as horrible as the YouTube videos make it out to be. I had spoken to a couple of owners who said they had not had any issues, but apparently, if you have a real issue, you're out of luck.

If anyone has any pull with someone at Ola, please help me out to get my scooter repaired.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Ather Energy plans to produce the 450 Apex for a limited period until October 2024.

Ather Energy has announced the launch of the 450 Apex. The new model, which is said to be the "pinnacle of the 450 platform", is priced at Rs 1.89 lakh (ex-showroom).

The 450 Apex is equipped with a 7 kW electric motor powered by a 3.7 kWh battery pack. Ather claims an IDC range of 157 km on a single charge and a 0-40 km/h time of 2.9 seconds, making it the quickest accelerating e-scooter in its line-up.

The 450 Apex comes with a couple of unique features. First up, it has a Warp+ mode that allows riders to deploy its peak performance and reach a top speed of 100 km/h. 

The e-scooter also features a new regenerative braking system called 'Magic Twist'. It allows the rider to twist the accelerator 15 degrees backwards to slow down the e-scooter without using the brakes. 

In terms of its design, the 450 Apex looks similar to other models based on the 450 platform. However, the former comes in a special Indium Blue colour and transparent body panels in the rear, revealing its orange frame. It also gets an enclosed belt drive, which will be introduced on other models in the near future.

Ather Energy plans to produce the 450 Apex for a limited period until October 2024.

The 2024 edition of the Bajaj Chetak comes with a 5-inch TFT display, among other advanced features.

Bajaj Auto has announced the launch of the 2024 Chetak. The electric scooter is available in two variants: Urbane and Premium, priced at Rs 1,15,001 and Rs 1,35,463 (ex-showroom, Delhi), respectively.

The 2024 edition of the Bajaj Chetak comes with a 5-inch TFT display. The optional TecPac gives riders access to features such as turn-by-turn navigation and music and call controls. It also comes with a Hill Hold mode.

Other features include self-cancelling turn indicators, electronic handle and steering locks, seat switches and a helmet box lamp. The Chetak Premium also gets a reverse mode.

The 2024 Bajaj Chetak is powered by a 3.2 kWh battery pack that offers an increased range of 127 km and a top speed of 73 km/h. The Premium variant comes with an onboard 800W charger.

2024 Bajaj Chetak colour options:

• Urbane – Coarse Grey, Cyber White, Brooklyn Black and Indigo Metallic Blue
• Premium – Hazelnut, Indigo Metallic Blue and Brooklyn Black