What is an electrical vehicle or EV?
As the name suggests, electric vehicles don’t run on petrol, diesel, or gasoline, instead, they run on electricity. Electric bikes, scooters, rickshaws, and cars are some of the electric vehicles running on the roads, and electric trains are already running worldwide. These vehicles come with an inbuilt battery that can be charged at electric charging stations.
Types of Electric vehicles:
- BEV: BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicles. Their batteries are charged externally through charging ports. As long as their batteries remain charged, they run on roads. But they stop working if their batteries run out. Their batteries need to be charged again at the charging stations.
- HEV: It stands for Hybrid Electric Vehicles. They run on fuel and battery. Unlike BEVs, they are not charged externally. They run on roads through the battery when it is charged. But when the battery runs out an IC engine is turned on with the help of fuel. Although an IC engine does not move an EV directly, it supplies power to a generator which converts it into electricity. This helps an EV run on the road and simultaneously it charges the battery. HEVs are charged through this method only. They are not charged externally. They run on roads through the battery when it is charged. But when the battery runs out an IC engine is turned on with the help of fuel. This helps an EV run on the road and simultaneously it charges the battery. HEVs are charged through this method only.
- PHEV: Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are the most common types of EVs. They are almost the same as HEVs, but PHEVs have bigger battery sizes that can be charged externally.
Why there is a need for electric vehicles, especially in India?
We all know that the whole world is grappling with a pollution crisis. Vehicles running on petrol or diesel contribute a lot towards polluting the environment. As per the data released by the World Economic Forum, out of the top 10 polluted cities in the world, 6 are from India.
Another reason that there must be a shift towards EVs is the cost of importing crude oil from other countries. In the financial year 2022-23, out of the total crude oil demand in India, 87.3% was acquired from imports.
Advantages of an EV
- One of the major advantages of an EV is that they don’t emit harmful gases while running on the road. They are environmentally friendly as they emit less CO2.
- EVs cover their cost within one to two years from the purchase time. Even though they are more expensive than traditional vehicles, they become economical in the long run.
- The cost of maintaining an EV is less as compared to traditional vehicles because they don’t run on petrol or diesel, they run on electricity, which is cheaper than fuels.
India’s initiatives to encourage the manufacturing and purchasing of EV
As the Indian government realizes its responsibility towards a cleaner environment and reducing pollution, it has launched many initiatives that would encourage companies to manufacture EVs and customers to purchase them. Some of them are:
- National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM): It was launched in 2013 with a target to achieve around 7 million sales of EVs year-on-year from 2020 onwards. Its focus areas were demand creation for EVs, technology advancements, and charging infrastructure. However, the target was underachieved.
- Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of EVs (FAME): Its first phase was launched in April 2015 with an outlay of Rs. 895 crores and its second phase was launched in April 2019 for three years with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores. The focus of this scheme was to encourage people to opt for an EV instead of traditional vehicles by incentivizing their manufacturing and purchase. This scheme was also highlighted in the budget speech 2023.
- Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP): It was launched in 2016 to reduce the import burden for manufacturing EVs and their assemblies. It was notified by the Ministry of heavy industries.
Challenges before India
India is doing a lot towards the increasing use of EVs but there are many challenges ahead.
- Charging Infrastructure: On average mileage of an EV is 250 to 500 miles (around 600 km) and there are only 6586 EV charging stations in India. Whereas there is more than 65000 petrol and diesel filling station. A person with a traditional vehicle can find a petrol pump in the range of 15-20 km but that is not so in the case of an EV.
- Cost of an EV: The purchase price of an EV is a big challenge in the front of the Indian Government. Where a traditional car costs around 7 lakhs, an Electric car costs around 15 lakhs. This is not feasible for a middle-class segment of society.
- Technology: India lacks technology through which an EV can be manufactured at lower costs. Most of the components of an EV are imported from other countries which makes it an expensive vehicle.
- Possible disruption: It is going to be very difficult for companies to transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to electric vehicles. There should be proper rules and regulations set by the government to handle this disruption.
Future of EVs in India
Electric vehicles are gaining popularity in India, still, the figures are not so overwhelming. As per the Government data, around 13 lakhs EVs are running on the roads as of August 2022, out of which 8 lakhs are E-rickshaws and around 5 lakhs are bikes and cars. That shows that EVs are not so popular for personal use.
The main reason is the battery explosions of electric bikes in some areas that took the lives of people. Moreover, we can fill the petrol or diesel tank in minutes, but it requires 1 to 1.5 hours to charge an EV. Battery life is also limited to 6-7 years and after that, it is required to be replaced.
There are no set standards for a common charging port of an EV. Every EV comes with a distinct charger and it is not possible to charge an EV with the charger other than the provided one.
For a country like India, it is very difficult to make EVs that can be run on the roads across India. The required range of temperature for an EV is 15 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius, and the temperature in India is diverse from north to south. So, it is very difficult to manufacture a common model of EVs that can be run across India.
Conclusion
The use of electric vehicles has become very important in today’s world because of the pollution caused by traditional vehicles and the cost of importing their fuel. They have many benefits, such as less air pollution, less noise pollution, and a low operational cost.
Many campaigns have been run by the government to create awareness among people about the benefits of these vehicles. While these vehicles come with many benefits, their poor handling can cause serious damage. So, people should be provided with the knowledge of proper handling and maintenance of these vehicles through training campaigns or camps.
If properly handled, they are a perfect substitute for traditional vehicles. People should switch to these vehicles as they are less expensive than the traditional ones in the long run. They are environment-friendly too and can help avoid lifestyle diseases like asthma and other breathing problems. Overall, it will be a good choice to opt for an electric vehicle instead of traditional vehicles running on petrol and diesel.
