Top 5 Reasons to avoid an Electric Vehicle

Presently there is a lot of buzz around EVs worldwide and for the past 2 to 3 years this trend is revolving quite well in India as well, pushing buyers to have a second thought before their final decision. I have literally seen people shortlisting EVs along with other options without knowing a bit about the EV they have shortlisted.

“Electric vehicles are the future”, this ideology is playing with the buyer’s mind, making space for uncertain decisions.

However, the above-mentioned ideology is not wrong at all, EVs are the future and there is no doubt about it at all. It’s just that there are a few factors that don’t align with the adaptation of EVs in India. This blog will focus on major drawbacks of owning an EV and why it’s not a wise decision.

1.       EVs are Expensive:

The alternate EV option is almost 50 to 60 per cent costly when compared to a regular IC engine vehicle of almost the same segment. The table below will help you to understand the price difference.

Regular Car	Price Ex-showroom	Alternate EV Option	Price Ex-showroom
Tata Tiago XZA Plus (Top model)	7.5 Lakh	Tata Tiago EV	11.3 Lakh
Tata Nexon XZA Plus (Top model)	11 Lakh	Tata Nexon EV	16.5 Lakh

 

Now have a look at this example, MG ZS EV which in my understanding is the best affordable and practical EV option in India with upto 461 Km of driving range. The Ex-showroom price of the ZS EV is 27 lakhs while the SUVs like Mahindra XUV 7OO, Jeep Compass and MG Hector are priced at less than 20 lakhs Ex-showroom for their top-end petrol automatic model.

2.       Lack of Charging Infrastructure:

Imagine that you live in Pune or Mumbai and you own the top-end variant of Tata Tiago EV which cost around 13 lakhs on-road. The car is running smoothly and fulfilling your daily purpose of office commute. Now a few of your office colleagues are planning a road trip to Goa, considering that you are the one with the car, but due to a lack of EV charging infrastructure it’s not possible to do so. In the above situation, you will start to reevaluate, whether buying an EV was the right decision or not.

In the city, especially in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and a few others it’s more likely that you will find at least 2 to 3 charging facilities within 5Kms of reach, but on highways, there is hardly any infrastructure to support EV charging. Even if there is any, it cannot be trusted because it could be shut down due to maintenance or some other issue.   

3.       Limited Range:

It’s not just about the destination, but about the journey as well. People nowadays prefer doing road trips with their family and friends where they could spend a fun time together and take halts wherever they want without depending on public transport.

If you are someone who loves road trips or plans an outstation trip more often on your vehicle then EV wouldn’t be an appropriate choice for you.

Spending a decent amount of around 31 lakhs on MG ZS EV, which has a max drive range of 461 km that we all know will go upto 400 Km max on a full charge is definitely not a practical option for frequent road trips. The max this EV could do is a Pune to Mumbai roundtrip, that too when the battery is fully charged.

4.       High Battery Cost of EV:

The running cost of an EV is approximately 6 to 8 times less than a regular petrol/diesel vehicle.

For example, the per KM running cost of Tata Tiago petrol is around 6 rupees, whereas the Tiago EV drills your pocket by just around 1 rupee for a KM. Amazing right? One can only imagine what a huge amount of around 3 to 4 lakhs could be saved in five years by switching to an EV.

However, in reality, you aren’t going to save anywhere close to those figures you have imagined and the major reason behind this is the high cost of battery which is about 50 percent of the entire EV.

With an EV, you will pay 50 to 60 percent more initial cost in the first place, plus the cost of 6 to 8 lakhs or even more after 7 to 8 years for battery replacement.

5.       Not So Environment Friendly:

The owners often take pride in owning an EV as they think they are contributing towards the environment by avoiding IC engine vehicles. Although EVs are a better option than regular petrol/diesel vehicles when it’s about favouring the environment but the difference isn’t enough to tag them as an environment-friendly option or alternative.

The reason I am saying so is, in India over 75 percent of the electricity is generated via coal burning, so directly or indirectly your car is consuming fossil fuel.   

Also, the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs contain metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese that are toxic and extremely harmful to water bodies and ecosystems.

 

Other Drawbacks of EVs:

·       Poor resale value.

·       Costly insurance premium.

·       Limited options for service and maintenance.

Conclusion:

To increase the acceptance of EVs, bringing down their price, an affordable battery cost and a good charging infrastructure are the three most major drawbacks that needs improvement.