Indian electric-scooter manufacturer, Okinawa, has officially launched its i-Praise e-scooter at Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom). This is a substantial increase over the Rs 71,460 ex-showroom price of the standard Praise.
The i-Praise comes with a detachable lithium-ion battery and the manufacturer claims a reduced charging time span of only 2-3 hours, compared to the 6-8 hour charging time on for the lead-acid battery on the Okinawa Praise. The 2.9kWh battery can be charged via a 5A socket, and an additional swappable battery pack will set you back Rs 70,000. The company further claims that the i-Praise is 30-40 percent lighter than other e-scooters on the market. Okinawa has claimed a range of 160-180km and a top speed of 55-75kph under ideal testing conditions. While this is good range for an e-scooter, it remains to be seen what these numbers will be like under actual Indian conditions.
Another feature that differentiates the i-Praise from the standard Praise is the Okinawa Eco app that comes with features like geo-fencing that prompts your phone when the scooter leaves a certain perimeter, and other details about battery life, trip details, and service intervals. The i-Praise also has a taller seat height of 800mm, compared to the 774mm on the Praise.
Okinawa began accepting bookings for the i-Praise back in December 2018 and has already received 450 bookings. The scooter is available in three colour combinations – red and black, golden and black, silver and black.