Hyperdrive

Record Fuel Costs Convince Scooter-Loving Indians to Go Electric

  • Makers want conversion target after Modi’s COP26 pledge
  • Lack of charging infrastructure, slow turnover are hurdles
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg
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The highest fuel prices in India’s history are spurring efforts to shift the nation’s ubiquitous motor scooters -- which account for nearly 70% of local gasoline consumption -- to electric models, along with a new pledge to hit net-zero by 2070.

At current prices, even the most fuel-efficient two-wheeler guzzles gasoline worth more than 100 rupees ($1.3) for a 100-kilometer ride, while an e-scooter can run the same distance at less than a sixth of that cost.