Electric cars in India are becoming increasingly popular and may completely replace internal combustion engine cars in the not-too-distant future. Electric cars have many advantages, but they also have some disadvantages. In this article, we will explain the pros and cons of electric cars in India to help those considering buying one makes an informed decision.
Related: Top 10 Reasons to Buy an Electric Car in India
Advantages of Electric Cars in India
Let’s start with the advantages of electric cars in India:
Greater Efficiency
Electric cars are more energy-efficient than models that burn fossil fuels. A vehicle’s energy efficiency is the amount of energy it gets from its fuel source. Battery-powered electric vehicles benefit from an energy efficiency of up to 62%. This means that a large amount of electrical energy is converted into the vehicle’s power source. In comparison, cars that run on fossil fuels are only 21% energy efficient.
Zero Emissions
One of the biggest advantages of electric vehicles is that they have no emissions. This is a huge advantage as electric vehicles reduce vehicle pollution to a great extent. However, keep in mind that before calculating the pollution from your car, it is essential to know the power source used to charge the battery. Electric car batteries being charged with electricity generated by thermal power plants largely defeats the purpose of electric cars.
High Performance and Low Maintenance
One of the defining features of electric cars is that they produce maximum torque right from the start. This means that the driver benefits from strong traction the moment he steps on the accelerator. This makes electric cars very fun to drive as they provide the user with very strong acceleration compared to internal combustion engine cars in a similar category.
Electric cars also require much less maintenance as they have fewer moving parts. However, this also depends on the market in which a particular electric car is sold.
Electric cars are just starting to take off in India and as adoption increases, electric car technology will only get cheaper, so maintaining an electric car may even be slightly more expensive than a regular car.
Disadvantages of electric cars in India
Electric cars cover shorter distances.
Most petrol and diesel cars sold in the country have a range of 500-700 km on a full tank. Meanwhile, even the best electric cars in India cannot go beyond 400 km on a single charge. Compounding this is range anxiety. With a very limited number of charging stations in India, electric car drivers have an automatic fear that their battery will run out if there is no charging station in sight. Hence, electric cars are not very suitable for long-distance travel.
“Refueling” an electric car takes time.
It takes less than a few minutes to fill up the tank of a petrol or diesel car. On the other hand, even with a fast charger, it takes at least 30 minutes to reach an 80% charge.
Charging a battery using a standard charger can take up to 8 hours.
This is a major limiting factor for electric vehicles: every owner should not only have an electric vehicle charger at home but should also carry a fast charger on long-distance trips so that they can quickly recharge if the battery runs out.
Electric Cars Are More Expensive.
The battery is currently one of the most expensive parts of an electric car. Battery technology has made great strides in recent years, and it is predicted that the cost of these batteries will come down significantly in the future. However, currently, electric versions of cars are much more expensive than versions with traditional internal combustion engines.
This deters many people who would like to buy an electric car, but the high purchase price is a barrier to doing so. Fortunately, governments in various states have recognized the benefits of having electric cars on the road and are offering subsidies to make electric cars more interesting. However, even taking into account the subsidies, electric cars end up being a rather expensive proposition.
Conclusion
So those are the pros and cons of electric cars in India. This little comparison should be helpful for those who were planning to buy an electric car but had put off the purchase due to concerns about electric vehicles.
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