Ather and Chetak have price and range problems (or I shall say low range despite high price problem), and Ola has reliability problems.
The major issue for iQube was it has the lowest range although at a lower price relatively. With this upgrade, they actually surpassed the competition in terms of range and kept the same price. This is probably the most sleeper launch ever. I mean I was aware that they are launching the upgraded iQube in this quarter but was not expecting such a huge upgrade and there was no hyping up of the product before launch.
This sets the tone for the future launches of other brands and especially for Hero Vida’s electric scooter. If Hero does not have such big batteries or features they will now be forced to price accordingly unlike the before iQube where they can price closer to Ola S1 Pro or Ather 450X.
I really hope they are expanding the production capacities. Based on recent official news, TVS is expanding the EV capacity to 10,000 units per month by end of Q1 FY23 (June 2022). I hope it’s not just a press release and they don’t hide behind chip shortages or battery shortages later.
Did anyone really got the delivery of TVS iqube ST variant ( Top model ) i don’t think they even manufactured it because there’s no buying option only for that.
Nope. No one has. TVS hasn’t even figured out how to make it yet. And yet just so many iQube’s on the road. It really is a easy going Activa replacement. Lighter on the wallet and sufficient range. The ST at its price can’t compete with Ather and Ola.
There is no update, even their customer support doesn’t know anything. I had booked one in May 2022 with expected delivery of August, but it got extended till November and now they don’t even update. Customer support just told me to switch to lower variant in November. I already got Ather meanwhile after 4 months of wait
Even with just the base and S variants, TVS is already outselling the Ather by a good margin. They sold 2,000 more than Ather in November. TVS does not need to resort to giving offers to sell its vehicles. Also, they are not spending any money on marketing for iQube. Their order book is growing steadily and they are still production-constrained, unlike Ather and Ola which are demand constrained.
TVS is definitely way behind in ST production and deliveries. But I don’t think they will struggle to sell those once they start production. They have a large room to price ST. If they price it for around Rs 1.4 lakhs, it’s going to get lot more sales from Ola S1 pro and Ather 450X buyers.
TVS is the only company that is developing multiple products across segments other than Ola. They are developing EV models to cover all the segments that their ICE lineup represents and will be launched in the next 2-3 years. Their EV production capacity is also expected to reach 25K by end of March 2023 as per official information. Even if they are late by 1 or 2 months, 25K per month will be a game changer for the Indian market as it is coming from a traditional manufacturer.
The problem is. The ones who don’t mind spending 1.4L on the scooter will want good performance as well. And looking at iQube ST figures. More people will look at Ather and Ola rather than TVS at that price point. Purely for the performance of Ather and Ola. IQube is good for all the practical reasons and people spend 1.4-1.5L on an ev scooter for not just practicality. They look for uniqueness and performance and gimmicky features as well :P. That being said, TVS being TVS there’s a lot of trust among buyers. No matter what the product is. Many are still Skeptical of new players of the likes of Ather, Ola, Simple energy, etc.
in any case it won’t be competition for at least 5-6 years because of the market growth. Every company will grow. Maybe at a different pace but the goal is to make the overall EV sales much much higher.
The biggest pull for ST will be the battery capacity and range. Also, except for display maps (only turn-by-turn navigation), it will have more smart features than Ather (Ex: Cruise control, keyless entry, etc…). The Majority of the market is ruled by Activas, Jupiters and Access, etc. which do not have any smart features.
Regular iQube is enough for all those Activa and Jupiter users who are OK with a 100km range. It will be a perfect replacement for them. iQube ST will cover an even higher userbase who need more range and want more feature proof vehicle.
Agree that market is very big and all the good models at decent price will definitely find buyers as more and more people shift to EVs.
Didn’t have the chance , 3 of my nearest showrooms didnt have em, even YouTube reviews are mostly of the S model only. So yeah…
But you can read their claimed specs and on review video of the S model they go toe to toe with other scooters
As you can clearly see. The ST is a good 1 second slower to 40Kmph down in power by almost 2kW
The only thing going for the iQube is it’s 4.56kWh battery but it boils down to, is this
Nobody knows if TVS will even be able to make the ST. Closing booking only means that they’re far from launching an actual product with these specs.
The specs are good for a practical scooter. Best range and above average performance. And
I would agree but the facts are clear if people really felt this way, it would reflect in iQube sales. It’s definitely starting to. But the younger crowd don’t mind risking it with startup’s like Ather and Ola instead of the sedate iQube S
The only thing going for the iQube is its 4.56kWh battery but it boils down to, is this.
The actual battery capacity of iQube ST is 5.1 kWh with a Usable capacity of 4.56 kWh. The Other advantages of iQube over Ather or Ola are a comfortable riding position, better suspension, silent motor.
The acceleration of Ather and the top speed of Ola are much better than iQube respectively. Different products serve different types of customers and the iQube market segment (Activa, Jupiter, Access, etc…) is the biggest of them all.
Regarding the iQube ST delay, agree that TVS screwed up big time. Whether it’s supplier issues or TVS’s own development problems but the delay is just too long and the communication about the current situation is bad.
So just rode friend’s TVS Iqube yesterday. Very refined product compared to my 450x. Obviously Ather is more powerful and fun to drive, but I felt Iqube is more practical for daily uses.
Comfortable seat. Adjustable rare suspension makes sure that your back does hurt after you ride more than 20-30km.
No belt noise or vibration etc.
If I had an option to pick one between 450x and iqube I would have gone with iqube.
For a strange belt noise, i was told by couple of service centers that they could not fix it and was informed that few Ather vehicles comes out of factory with this issue by default. One more customer came with the same problem as that of mine and he was given the same response.
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