ElectricVehicleWeb spoke to Mukesh from West Bengal on the purchase of his first electric vehicle, a Hero Photon high-speed electric scooter model. It has only been a week since his purchase, and here are Mukesh’s observations:
Would you like to start with your introduction?
Sure, my name is Mukesh and I am a working professional currently providing my services to an IT firm as a technical service employee. I work as a delivery executive with Zomato as a part-time job. I live in Durgapur, West Bengal. I made an electric bike when I was in college and that can be counted as my first electric vehicle. So my first electric bike was a final year project in my engineering college. The Hero Electric Photon is my first electric vehicle purchase.
Which petrol vehicle were you using prior to the purchase?
I own a motorcycle too, a Hero Glamour FI and have ridden about 5,000 km. I used to own an old motorcycle by TVS called the Victor, I did about 10,000 km on that. I used these bikes for my work-related travels.
What made you switch to an Electric vehicle?
Because it is affordable. I compared my daily expenses with what I used to spend on my motorcycle to the Hero Electric Photon. It is comparatively cheap as compared to a vehicle which runs on petrol and the ever-rising petrol price is one too many reasons to switch. Apart from affordability, it also contributes to a much cleaner environment, especially the air quality.
Apart from Hero Electric Photon, what other electric scooters were on your shortlist?
The other scooters I had on my list were the Pure EV ePluto 7G, Revolt RV400 motorcycle and I also thought about the Okinawa IPraise+.
So, what made you choose Hero Electric’s Photon?
I decided to go with the Hero Electric Photon because they had a service centre in my city. No other brand has a service centre (or a good service centre) in West Bengal. Even the price tag at Okinawa is at the higher range, going up to INR 1,08,000. Hero Electric is a reliable brand and has a strong network of service centres. I am put up in Durgapur West Bengal and I bought this scooter from Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
What is the average distance you travel on your scooter and what is the initial range?
I mainly use it for my work as I am a field agent. I was not able to fully discharge it but I did travel from around Dhanbad to Durgapur on my scooter which is about 70 km.
How was your buying experience? Like, when did you book the scooter, and when were you able to get the delivery of your vehicle?
I ordered this vehicle about a month before and when I had a word with the nearby showroom, they told me that your current location is quite far and even the discount was not available in the West Bengal region. They were anyway offering discounts in Jharkhand which was also quite close to my home. So, I decided to go ahead with the dealership in Jharkhand and sent them a booking amount of INR 10,000 online.
After all the formalities, I received my vehicle in less than a month. The dealership informed me about the delivery of my vehicle and I picked up my scooter just 2-3 days back. Apart from my scooter’s cost, I had to pay extra INR 13,000 for RTO and insurance. The actual price is INR 75,990 and there was a discount of INR 2,000.
Are people curious about the green registration plate?
Yes, a lot of people were asking me that when they started making the number plate in green. So, I told them that you do receive such a number plate in electric models crossing the speed of 25km/hr. I do receive a lot of inquiries about this scooter. I work with Zomato as a part-time delivery executive and I do get a lot of attention and interest in this scooter from my colleagues. So, they ask me about what model they should buy or what will be the best scooter for them.
How much time does it take to fully charged?
I charge it for about 5-6 hours as this is a new scooter. Even when I have kept this scooter on charge for about 4-5 hours it does not show me 100% charged. It might take some time for the battery to adjust. Only after a few charges would I be able to determine how much time it takes for the battery to charge fully.
Do you think there can be a feature improved or added to the Hero Photon electric scooter?
I prefer wheels of about 12 inches but they provide 10-inch wheels. So, I think the wheel diameter could have been better. They have provided a USB port in the trunk. This is a bit impractical because you cannot keep your phone inside the trunk and charge it while you are navigating using your phone. The suspension is a bit on the harder side, it could have been much softer. As once you enter a road with potholes, your whole body and the front end starts to vibrate!
Even the body is not that strong as compared to other vehicles so that they can keep a check on the weight of this vehicle. They can definitely improve the quality of the fiber on the body of this scooter going forward.