Okinawa climbs to the roof of the world

The Praise becomes the first electric scooter to reach Khardung La.

Published On Jul 08, 2018 09:00:00 AM

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Range anxiety is probably the biggest reason stopping people from buying an electric vehicle. The thought of being stranded by the side of the road and having to wait 6 to 10 hours for your batteries to charge, assuming that you manage to find a charging point in the first place, is enough to deter most people.

Okinawa Scooters was aware of this issue and went out to make a strong statement by sending two of its Praise electric scooters from Gurgaon to Leh. The Praise pair traversed the mighty Khardung La pass at an altitude of 17,582 feet.

The journey covered a distance of 1,350km and was carried out over 10 days. It was made possible by the Praise’s new removable Lithium-ion battery pack design that allowed the crew to swap battery packs and charge the second pack at tea stalls, food stops, etc.

The route began in Gurgaon and passed through Ambala, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Banihal, Ganderbal, Sonamarg, Srinagar, Bhimbat, Lamayuru and Leh before finally culminating at the Khardung La pass.

The current production model of the Praise comes with a lead-acid battery as standard, but the lithium-ion battery pack will be offered as an option soon. Okinawa claims a range of 170-200km for the lithium-ion variant but the company hasn’t confirmed which riding mode this is achieved in. The Li-ion battery has a claimed charging time of 2-2.5 hours, with an 80 percent charge achievable in 45 minutes.

The Praise currently sells for Rs 59,889 (ex-showroom, Delhi) and comes with a digital instrument cluster, keyless go, USB charging and a location tracker for theft protection. Expect the lithium-ion battery equipped version to be a good deal more expensive when it goes on sale in a couple of month.