The year is 2050, you have grabbed your coffee and are driving to work. Now, wait for a second! Let’s go back, did you drive an electric car or an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car? I suggest your answer is Electric Car (EC). So what is an Electric Car anyway? And is it worth its hype or is it just a passing cloud?
A car that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using energy stored in rechargeable batteries is told to be an Electric car. It is quieter, has no exhaust emissions, and lower emissions overall. Take Tata Nexon EV for example, it runs 312 km on a full charge, has a floating roof, projector headlamps with tri-arrow DRLs, fully automatic temperature control, flat-bottom steering wheel, and much more. Hyundai Kona EV offers 452km with its high voltage 39.2-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion polymer battery.
Economics of EV
Now you must be thinking that a car with such loaded features would cause a dent in your wallet but as per data found in the US, the total cost of ownership of EVs is cheaper than that of equivalent ICE cars due to lower fueling and maintenance costs, operating cost of EVs is lesser than that of ICE vehicles, but the upfront cost of EVs is higher. On the bright side, battery costs have come down by 85% in the past decade. One must look at the total cost of ownership to make a learned decision.
Environment Friendly
What really pushed the manufacturing of EVs is its environment-friendly factors. EVs significantly reduce local air pollution by not emitting volatile pollutants such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. Moreover, the government reports claim that there are 69,000 fuel stations in the country and it plans to have at least one EV charger at each petrol pump, thus eliminating range anxiety for potential EV buyers.
Global Impact
On the global front, China leads every other country and holds over half (54%) of the World’s all-electric car fleet. Moreover by the end of 2020 more than 10 million electric cars were sold, an increase of 41% from the previous year according to International Energy Agency Report. Tesla Model 3 has been World’s best-selling EV on an annual basis since 2018 and became the World’s all-time best-selling electric car in early 2020. Now Tesla is all set to launch its electric cars in India this year. The Italian automaker Lamborghini will launch its first all-electric supercar in the latter half of the decade.
The Future
It is proof that there is consumer demand via the widespread adoption of EVs and their components. Also, the Make In India program can come at the disposal of the manufacturing market. All in all, it can be safe to say that the future of Electric cars in India is positively electric and a boon for mother nature as well.