In our last article regarding EVs we discussed the reasons one must opt for EVs in India, we came across 10 reasons why one must opt for an Electric Vehicle in India.
In this article, I will discuss a few of the important points which you must keep in mind before planning to buy an Electric Vehicle in India.
Since the infrastructure for electric vehicles is not so good in India as of now, but it will surely get better in coming years as the government is keenly interested in the induction of Electric Vehicles in large scale for both personal and commercial purpose.
Here I am once again with another topic for some of the “THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE IN INDIA “. So, let’s begin,
1. Charging Stations are still so alien to the majority:
For electric vehicles to hit the road, charging stations are required especially for the ones who are going to take their vehicle for long distances. Short distances and daily commutes can be done even without so much charging stations just like we have fuel bunks.
But the problem arises when we want our electric vehicles to have a long enough range to cover minimum 300-400 KMs on a single charge and for the next top-up we don’t have a charging station. You have to get your vehicle towed for the rest of your journey.
This is painful and one must check the numbers of charging stations in the nearby cities as well so that you won’t have to worry about recharging later on.
But, as we know, soon we will be witnessing a decent number of charging stations around us, things will become better. Just like we had only a few fuel bunks in the earlier days of induction of petrol/diesel engines vehicles. EVs are the future, we can’t deny the fact, but without proper charging stations, it’s a nightmare.
2. The range is a thing to concern:
Most EVs which we have with us today have a range of around 400 KMs. It is sufficient keeping in mind the kind of usage one will buy it i.e., for the daily commute.
But for public transports which have to work for most of the time, the range is a big issue. With the current infrastructure we have and the charging speed which is terrible for most of the EVs, it is kind of the biggest difficulty we will face in the future. But, don’t worry about how things are going to work out, just believe that they will.
As most of the companies are working on their machines to increase the range of vehicles by increasing the size of the battery and increasing the efficiency of the motor as well we can expect the ranges of probably more than 500 KMs in the future, which is absolutely a great thing.
But, with an increase in the size of the battery, the charging time increases drastically. And this moves us to the next point i.e., Charging Time.
3. Charging Time is slower than you expect it to be:
This word is probably the most painful, most irritating and also the most time-consuming in the case of an electric vehicle. Charging a battery, in particular, is a slow process and one can’t compare it to the refuelling of a fuel tank which hardly takes a minute or two for the top-up.
Charging a battery even with a fast charger is not as fast as the refuelling of a fuel tank. The solution which I think is the most practical here is that you can charge your EV at home most of the time but you must buy a fast charger so that if you are stranded somewhere to charge it, you won’t have to stay overnight to charge it rather you can just wait for around half an hour to an hour according to the speed of your fast charger.
For touring purpose, suppose if your vehicle gets fully charged from 0 to 100 in 1 hour using a fast charger, I am assuming that you won’t be draining your battery till zero while touring but let it be around 20% to 30%. Keeping this condition in mind, your vehicle won’t take more than an hour to get fully charged using a fast charger.
Moreover, you can take rest for a while till you are charging your bike at the charging station using a fast charger as rest is an essential part of long-distance touring.
But the matter of the fact is, we don’t have much of the charging stations here as of now, therefore no one would take the risk of touring on their EV at this point of time.
4. Expensive batteries will drain your pocket:
Even though an Electric vehicle is a good choice to save a decent amount of money over some time, the initial cost i.e., the affordability factor discourages many to opt for an EV.
This is because the cost of the battery is very high and that is the single most expensive thing in an electric vehicle. It needs to be thoroughly maintained and must be kept safe from any sort of damage which can lead to another set of problems.
One more thing which we must keep in our mind is that a battery needs to be replaced after a certain time period because the back-up it provides reduces after some time.
Buying another battery or replacing it with another one is also an expensive task. This remains a big problem for people who want to be under a strict budget to opt for an electric vehicle.
5. Low after-sales value:
Just think it yourself, will you buy a used electric vehicle for which you anyhow have to change the battery for better range and changing the battery will cost you enough that you can add some and buy a brand new EV with better range altogether and of course long battery life, which is the main reason of buying a brand new electric vehicle.
It has also been observed in the countries having EV markets that a second-hand EV is sold very less in comparison to a new one which clearly indicates the value of a used electric vehicle in the market, So you have to consider this before buying an Electric Vehicle in India
Conclusion:
As the above points would have let you think about the practical issues the owner of an electric vehicle is going to face, I would still suggest you try out these EVs so that you yourself will be able to decide if these vehicles are made for you or not.
You can surely use them for daily commute as the fast charging won’t be an urgent requirement for you.
You can charge it at your home overnight to use it the next day and if used wisely, these can truly prove their potential and everyone will start owning them in the future. Let’s go ahead, be the part of this wonderful future which is CLEAN, GREEN & MEAN.
Please let me know your suggestions or thoughts in the comment section below!