Are Electric cars for Indians?

Can electric cars win over the hearts of Indian buyers?

People say Electric cars are the future. For sure they are, as inevitably we will run out of our fossil fuel reserves sooner or later.

With rising concerns about sustainable development, it is natural that our Country’s vehicles need to gradually transition to becoming cleaner and contributing less to pollution. What options do we have? Apart from fossil fuel-based combustion technology that is used in Internal Combustion Engines(ICE), we have electric ( we are not considering hybrids as their Internal Combustion Engines are supported by electric motors to reduce emissions and in some cases increase performance and fuel efficiency).

Can Electric cars really bring a value proposition to the Indian car buyer?

Before we delve deep into that question, we assume that we Indians will have adequate charging stations in the near future and also the electricity produced will increasingly become cleaner( i.e. the amount of electricity produced through coal and fuel-based generators will reduce and the electricity produced through renewable resources like hydel power, solar power, and wind power will increase).

Let’s compare ICE cars and Electric cars on the parameters that a typical desi car buyer looks for.

1. Performance:

ICE cars have a lot of moving parts and they burn rich air and fuel mixtures to generate mechanical energy that ultimately powers and rotates the wheels through the axle. These cars generally require gears to keep the engine revolutions at an optimum level to achieve a good amount of torque(the power you need to accelerate to a certain speed).

Electric cars have comparatively lesser moving parts. They primarily rely on a ‘battery-pack’ that has a set of electric cells in it. These cells convert the chemicals inside them to electricity. The electricity passes through motors that are attached to the axle or axles of the vehicle and these motors convert electricity to mechanical energy through the principle of electromagnetic induction.

The result? Electric cars gain an almost instant high-end torque and do not require gears to keep changing the torque levels. This makes them accelerate really quickly to good speeds, increasingly even faster than their ICE counterparts.

2. Comfort:

Electric cars don’t have any engines and don’t necessarily require an engine bay. Plus they don’t have as many moving parts as an ICE car. This creates more space for interiors and additional comfort features that can make the ride even better.

3. Looks:

Looks matter, especially when buying a car. Cars for us Indians also show who we are and what taste in style we have.

Gone are the days when Electric cars were associated with toyish looking boxes on 4 wheels. Modern electric cars are sleek, aerodynamic and look ready for the future.

In fact, Electric cars have the potential to look more like their concepts as designers have a lot of space to make use of their artistic talent, again thanks to not worrying about giving more than adequate space to moving parts.

4. Efficiency:

The infamous question, “Kitna deti hai?”.

Electric cars are rapidly improving in their range and charge times. For instance, the newly launched Hyundai Kona has a battery that is rated at 452 km range and its wall charger takes 6hrs and 10 mins for a full charge, ideal if you’re at the office or at your house where charging facility is available.

The charging times are set to get lesser when charging stations will come up in our country.

5. Cost of Ownership:

ICE cars need to be maintained and require replacement of parts after a certain number of years or kilometers. Electric cars also require maintenance but the bills are going to be cheaper because the moving parts are less and overall the car requires lesser servicing and service times.

Compared to maintaining ICE cars and paying for their fuel, Electric cars although have a higher buying cost(currently) have a lesser overall cost of ownership. This is because of their reduced maintenance bills and charging costs which are significantly lesser than fuel costs.

6. Emissions:

Electric cars are more environment-friendly than ICE cars as they don’t burn any hydrocarbon fuels. Electric cars are about twice as clean to create, operate and dispose of than gas vehicles, according to an MIT study.

The Options:

Currently, the line-up of Electric cars in India is lesser than internal combustion engine cars. Some electri cars in the Indin market are the Hyundai Kona, Tata Tigor EV, Tata Nexon EV, Mahindra eVerito, MG ZS.

The line-up of electric cars is set to expand as manufacturers are planning to introduce new electric cars for the market and this will allow buyers to evaluate more options.

Conclusion:

Electric cars almost excel in all the parameters we have seen and they present a great value proposition to a typical Indian car buyer.

If you think that electric cars lose character because they don’t produce roaring engine sounds like their ICE counterparts, you’re in for a surprise.

Fake noises are being added for complying with safety regulations as well as for owners’ aesthetic purposes. Imagine having a roaring V8 noise but not the emissions, that’s a win-win.

Probably, the biggest intangible benefit that electric cars give their owners is a smile. A smile that gives them a sense of satisfaction knowing that they have a great performing, comfortable and stylish looking car that is easy to maintain and is friendlier towards the environment.