A few days ago Okinawa sent out a press release stating that it had become the first electric two-wheeler company to get the FAME II approval. The release also said that thanks to the approval, customers would get a subsidy of Rs 17,000-26,000 depending on the model. However, its scooters already fell under the subsidy offered by FAME I which is why according to dealers, their prices remain same, and have actually risen, in the case of some models.
Okinawa’s most affordable lithium-ion model, the Ridge+, now gets a subsidy of Rs 17,000 instead of Rs 22,000 it previously enjoyed. This has resulted in the electric scooter’s price rising by around Rs 4,200 from Rs 80,300 to Rs 84,500 (on-road, Mumbai).
According to dealers, the price for the Okinawa i-Praise remains unchanged, even after the change in the amount of subsidy. The electric scooter continues to be priced at Rs 1.26 lakh. The cost for the larger disc variant also remains the same at Rs 1.28 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).
Dealers also told us that prices for the Okinawa’s lead-acid versions have also gone up by around Rs 9,500 since September 2018 because they no longer enjoy the subsidy they did. The revised on-road Mumbai prices are Rs 61,000 for lead-acid Ridge and Rs 85,000 for the lead-acid Praise.
UPDATE:
After the publishing of this story, Okinawa has reached out to inform us that the ex-showroom cost of the Ridge Plus has only risen by Rs 2,000 post FAME II. This is because the company is absorbing the balance cost even though the subsidy has reduced by 5,000. However, according to the dealers we spoke to, the on-road prices for the Ridge + are still higher than they used to be before FAME II, so if you are interested in this scooter, you will still end up paying roughly Rs 5,000 more for the on-road cost.
When it comes to the i-Praise, Okinawa tells us that its ex-showroom price has actually gone down by Rs 2,000. This makes sense because the i-Praise has a 2.6kWh Li-ION battery, which will qualify for larger benefits under FAME II. However, we are hearing conflicting things here from dealerships regarding the prices. In Mumbai, the sole dealer claims that both the ex-showroom and on-road cost of the i-Praise have, infact, remained unchanged. Interestingly, the Pune showroom quotes a lower ex-showroom cost of Rs 1.14 lakh, down from the previous Rs 1.17 lakh. So whether you will actually end up paying more, less or the same for the i-Praise appears to depend on which city you live in. We suggest a visit to the dealership and a detailed examination of the price break up before you make a decision.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
