Okinawa is one of the most popular electric scooter manufacturer in our country and started its operation with lead-acid electric scooter batteries. The last couple of years saw the company shifting towards a Li-ion range. The lithium-ion batteries offer better performance, are more efficient and have better technology and are a step ahead of the ageing lead-acid battery packs. In the same wake, Okinawa has announced that it has discontinued all the scooters which came equipped with lead-acid battery packs.
More details
With the Indian government’s FAME-II subsidy covering only lithium-ion battery pack equipped scooters, their popularity rose sharply in the recent times. And hence, Okinawa decided to shift its focus primarily on li-ion range.
The company since inception has registered sales of over 74,500 units of electric scooter across India. Of this, over 34,000 units are lead-acid powered electric scooters. Okinawa stated that they are planning to close this fiscal year with 90,000 units of sales. Okinawa now has five lithium-ion battery-powered models in its lineup. This includes two low-speed models and three high-speed offerings. The low-speed offerings include Lite and R30, while the high-speed electric scooters are the i-Praise+, PraisePro and Ridge+ models.
Official statement
Jeetender Sharma, Founder & MD, Okinawa, stated, “We are shifting to 100 per cent lithium-ion battery pack based two-wheelers. When we launched the brand, lead acid was the most advanced option available in the market. Now with rigorous growth of the industry and the brand, we have taken a step ahead and have discontinued lead-acid battery pack-based products. Not only will Okinawa products be equipped with lithium-ion battery packs offering efficiency, but they will also come with detachable batteries ensuring convenience to the users.”
Okinawa Praise Pro
Talking about Okinawa’s one of the most popular offerings, the Praise Pro is powered by a 1000-watt BLDC Waterproof motor which gives 2500-watt peak power. This enables the scooter to offer an impressive range of up to 100 – 110 km on a single charge and can achieve a top speed of 70 kmph.
The scooter is equipped with a 2Kw detachable lithium-ion battery, which will address the issues related to battery charging plugs in parking for the people who stay in high rise buildings. It comes with a removable battery with easy to charge on any 5 Amp plug similar to where we charge our Mobile phones. It takes just 3 hours for the battery to get fully charged.