EV vs Petrol: Ola Electric Roadster vs Hero Splendor Plus: Running Costs Compared

Will the running costs of the new Ola Electric Roadster undercut those of the legendary Hero Splendor Plus?

Being an electric bike the all-new Ola Electric Roadster bike promises lower running costs than a petrol-powered bike. The Ola Electric Roadster is priced between Rs 74,999 and Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom), meaning the base variant’s prices are similar to the price of the Hero Splendor Plus, which is priced between Rs 75,441 and Rs 78,286 (ex-showroom). We’ll compare the running costs of the electric and petrol-powered bikes: 

Ola Electric Roadster Range And Running Costs

The Ola Electric Roadster's top 6 kWh variant offers a claimed range of 248 km. The average cost of electricity is Rs 11.7 per unit in Maharashtra, and since the Roadster's charger consumes 6 units to fully charge the battery, the cost per kilometre comes out to approximately Rs 0.283. This means you would spend around Rs 283 per month on charging the Ola Electric Roadster, assuming your monthly running is around 1000 km.

Hero Splendor Plus Mileage And Running Costs

When we tested the Splendor Plus in the real world, it returned a mileage of 83.2kmpl in the city and 95.8kmpl on the highway. With a 9.8-litre fuel tank, giving the Splendor Plus a real-world range of over 800km. The average cost of petrol in Maharashtra is Rs 110 per litre, which results in costing approximately Rs 1.32 per kilometre. Considering your average monthly running is 1000 km, it would cost you around Rs 1,320 per month in fuel for the Splendor Plus.

Ola Electric Roadster vs Hero Splendor Plus

In the flesh, you would save Rs 1,037 per month in running costs, if you choose the Ola Roadster over the Splendor Plus. Having said that, there are more things to consider. The top variant of the Ola Electric Roadster is Rs 21,713 more expensive than the Hero Splendor Plus’s top variant. While we don’t have the charging time for the Roadster it will obviously be quite a lot higher than filling the petrol tank of the Splendor Plus. So yes, while you do save a fair amount of petrol money in EVs over petrol-powered vehicles. Add to that the lower maintenance costs of electric vehicles. 

That said, electric vehicles bring drawbacks like charging times and a lack of infrastructure in India. So the money savings would only be worth it if you are okay with the aforementioned hassles. As for the Ola Roadster, while it seems to be the more cost-effective bike than the Splendor Plus in terms of running costs, we’d like to see how it works in the real world, once we get our hands on a media bike.