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In 2022, Pakistan first received a wave of EV bikes in the local market when Jolta Electric introduced its EV bike lineup. Following in 2023, Metro Motorcycles invested heavily in its EV scooter lineup for Pakistan.

That’s when the EV market received momentum.

After some time, many other players entered the competition, including:

  • Evee
  • Road Prince
  • New Asia
  • MS Jaguar
  • United
  • Vlektra

At the end of 2023, Yadea, the largest Chinese electric scooter manufacturer, started its operations in Pakistan.

If you want to buy an electric bike or scooter now, you have got choices from more than 5 companies, and many are preparing to launch their operations soon in Pakistan.

Now, the confusion is, which type of 2-wheeler could be best for you, i.e., Electric or Petrol? The answer is a bit complex and depends on multiple factors and the buyer’s purchase decision.

Pakwheels Opinion

In one line, if you have daily running of 30-50 km, you want a very low-running cost transport and don’t mind a vehicle that can only do 50-60 km/h max speed, an EV scooter is ideal for you, i.e., Yadea T5 or Metro E8s.

If you care about resale,  have long daily running like more than 50 km, don’t have feasible access to electricity supply, and want reliability with easy access to repairs, a petrol bike is best for you, e.g., Honda CD70 or YBR 125.

Quick Comparison

If you don’t want to read the whole article, here’s a quick comparison:

 

Parameter

EV

Petrol

Fuel

Electrical energy

Petrol

Power

Electric motor

Internal combustion engine

Cost

Expensive (High price)

Affordable than EVs

Cost of fuel

Low

High

Cost of Maintenance

Low

High

Features

Loaded with features

Basic features only

Fuel efficiency

75%

15-25%

Sound

Soundless experience

Of course, it has an engine sound

Running Cost 

EV is the simple winner, without any doubt!

An electric motor system is 75% more efficient than an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), which is only 15-25% efficient. It simply means the cost per km of a vehicle will be much less than that of a gasoline engine. Let’s do the calculation here:

2 units of electricity is taken by an EV to fully charge and it can travel 70 km on one charge. Its cost-per-km will be Rs.1.4/km.

A gasoline 70cc engine does 52 km/l. Its cost-per-km will be Rs.5.25/km (Rs.273 Petrol price).

Factor

EV

Petrol

Running cost-per-km

Rs1.4/km

Rs.5.25/km

EV is indeed much cheaper to run than a petrol bike.

Winner: EV

Long-term Maintenance Cost 

The biggest maintenance cost in an EV is the battery replacement cost, while the biggest costs in petrol bikes are periodic maintenance and engine oil cost.

We’ll take CD70 for an example in a petrol bike:

 

Maintenance Tye

EV

Petrol 

Life

Air Filter

300 PKR

1,000 km

Engine Oil

680 PKR

1,000 km

Tunning labour

3,50 PKR

1,000 km

Chain sprocket

3,800 PKR

20,000 km

Batteries

30,000 PKR

N/A

60,000 km

Total cost after 1000 km running

Rs.500

Rs.1520

Winner: EV

Initial Investment Cost

Here, a EV bikes takes the lead. For example:

 

Model

Price

Type 

Suzuki GS150

350K PKR

Petrol

Honda CG125

230K PKR

Petrol

Evee C1

200K PKR

EV

Hond CD70

150K PKR

Petrol

Yamaha YBR G

450K PKR

Petrol

Yadea T9

260K PKR

EV

Suzuki GR 150

547K PKR

Petrol

Suzuki GD110S

322K PKR

Petrol

Metro M6 

220K PKR

EV

United Scooty 100cc

300K PKR

Petrol

Overall, the initial cost of a petrol engine is a bit higher than that of an EV scooter.

Winner: EV

Goodies and Features

Even a Yadea T9, which costs 260K PKR, offers more extras and hi-tech goodies than a Suzuki GR 150, which costs 547K PKR.

Almost all EVs have the same features, just some design, battery, and motor updates. Here’s a comparison of what an average EV scooter and an expensive petrol bike get you, i.e., GR 150, YBR, and GD110s:

 

Features 

EV 

Petrol

LED Projector Headlights

Yes

No

LED DRLs

Yes

No

Reverse assist

Yes

No

LED speed-o-meter

Yes

No

Disc brakes

Yes

Yes

Kickless start

Yes

Yes

Hazard lights

Yes

No

LED taillights

Yes

No

Winner: EV 

Spares availability and Long Travelling

Without any doubt, petrol engines take the lead here.

Petrol bikes can be taken to almost any part of the country, no matter how remote the location; you just need to put in fuel and be ready to go.

On the other hand, you can’t go on a long ride in an electric scooter. There is no EV infrastructure for 2-wheelers in Pakistan. They are only good if you want to do short city commutes with specific daily running, like 30-50 km maximum in the city.

Winner: Petrol engine

Speed and Performance

Even the CD 70 has better power figures than any officially available EV scooter in Pakistan.

EVs do have better torque and more power capabilities than a petrol engine of the same league, but in Pakistan, manufacturers build very low-performance EVs that can hardly touch 70 km/h top speed.

If you need performance, pick, and power, EVs are not for you.

An average officially available brand new EV scooter in Pakistan can only achieve a top speed of 45-60 km/h, while a petrol bike (except CD70) can achieve a top speed of 100-115 km/h.

Winner: Petrol engine

Resale of the Vehicle

Currently, petrol bikes have better resale than EV scooters. However, it might be temporary and people might lean more towards EVs in the coming future.

Currently, it’s an absolute waste of money if you’re buying an EV scooter for resale; they rarely have a market in the resale world.

All petrol motorcycles have a much better resale market than EV scooters, e.g., Honda CG 125, YBR 125 and GS 150.

Winner: Petrol engine