Why should i choose an EV?

Hello folks,

We all know in today's world there are numerous varieties of electric vehicles available in the market. Also number of Petrol, Diesel, and CNG vehicles are also available. This creates doubts in the minds of buyers about the kind of vehicle they should choose for themselves. Today's buyer is quite price conscious and hence they need to have a proper look at the base price running price and long-term reliability of the product too.

In this article, we will be discussing EVs by separating them into 3 sections. They are either 2-wheeler EVs, 3-wheeler, or 4-wheeler EVs. Even 4-wheeler Electric vehicles are further divided into vehicles used for commercial usage and vehicles which are used for personal usage. We will discuss all these EVs one by one and which EV is beneficial for which section of people.

1.     2-Wheeler EVs:

• There are lots of electric vehicles available in the market which comes in the form of Scooters and Bikes. Some of the EVs available in 2-wheelers are OLA, ATHER, TVS, Revolt, VIDA, Ampere, Okinawa, and many more. These EVs are using either Lead Acid Batteries or Lithium Ion batteries for their running. Lead Acid Batteries were the initial batteries used in those EVs. Their prime benefit was low cost which resulted in EVs becoming a lot more popular during initial times. But these batteries lack long-term life 
• As a result of the low running cost, lots of people opted for EVs with Lead Acid Batteries. But they were disappointed over the long term when they were required to change batteries quite often. Even the low capacity of these batteries lacks the required pickup that users expect from these EVs. Also, there was substantial restriction over the maximum speed that can be attained by these EVs. Even the EVs that were run on Lead Acid batteries weren't as safe as current generation EVs. 
• 2-Wheeler EVs have gained substantial popularity mainly because of the widespread use of 2-Wheelers by numerous people. A lot of those people were already troubled by the constant rise in fuel prices which were hitting their pockets over a longer run. Hence, these people were required to shift to some economic alternative for their daily commute. When they found that shifting to EVs could reduce their fuel cost 10 times, they were raised with one more concern about the longevity of these vehicles. But people were more convinced when these EV manufacturers came out with long-term warranties on their most costly parts like batteries and motors.
• Now let's consider who should choose an EV. It depends on how many km you drive during a Day. For example, if someone hardly drives 2-3 km a day, then EVs are definitely not going to be economical for you. Mostly EVs will be more economical for people who have higher km running daily. This is mainly because even though EVs have higher initial cost, but that higher cost is justified by the lower running cost for an EV.
• One can consider the break-even point for their EV based on the following calculations.

Let's assume that the initial cost of your EV is 1.5 lakhs. Now initial cost for any normal gasoline vehicle will be around 90,000. So there will be an initial 60,000 price difference if you go for some quality EV.

 

Calculations

 

Running Cost of any normal Petrol 2-wheeler: 2.5 Rupees/km. As most of the EVs come with a minimum of 50,000 km of warranty, let's just consider warranty duration for our calculation. These premium EVs can definitely last more than warranty duration.

 

So the running cost for a Petrol vehicle for 50,000 km = 50,000*2.5 = 1,50,000 Rupees.

 

Total Cost for Owning a Petrol Vehicle = 90,000+1,50,000 = 2,40,000 Rupees post 50,000 km.

 

Calculation for an EV: Running cost for EV 2-Wheeler: 0.2 Rupees/km.

 

Running Cost of EV = 50,000 * 0.2 = 10,000 Rupees.

 

Total Cost of owning an EV = 1,50,000 + 10,000 = 1,60,000, post 50,000 kms.

 

Now, these premium EVs don't just fail post-warranty. They last a substantial amount of time post-warranty. So the longer they last, the more beneficial they become. So based on calculations you will likely touch the break-even point in 5 years if your daily running is more than 10 km. If your running is more than 10 km, then the breakeven point will be shorter. So one can definitely consider buying EV 2-wheeler vehicles if your daily vehicle running is more than 10 km per day.

 

2. 3 - Wheeler EVs:

 

Normally rickshow drivers have very high kms running per day. Hence they can be highly benefited by buying an EV. We already know how much steep competition is being faced by auto-rickshaws due to Ola and Uber services in metro cities. To beat the pricing of these services, e-rickshaws is an effective solution. Now let's consider one example and calculate how cost-effective an e-rickshaw would be to you.

 

Mahindra Treo Plus:

 

 

This auto will cost you 3.5 lakh on-road. It will come with 5 years or 1,20,000 kms of warranty which is decent enough considering high running for auto drivers. Mahindra is claiming a range of 150 km out of 10 kw battery. Even if we consider rough driving conditions and keeping 10% battery buffer we can easily extract 100 kms of real-world range which can be enough for auto drivers for daily usage. Even drivers can top-up if they have more running during their lunch break of 1 hour.

 

Now let us calculate a real-world example where an auto driver is having treo plus, He spent 3.5 lakhs for this auto. So his running cost and final cost will be like this.

 

Initial Cost: Rs. 3.5 lakhs

Running Cost: Rs. 0.7 per km.

Daily Running: 100 km

Daily Expenses - 70 rupees

Monthly Expenses - Rs. 2100

 

CNG Auto Costing

 

Initial Cost - Rs, 2.3 lakhs

Running Cost - Rs. 3 / km

Daily Running - Rs. 100 kms

Daily Expenses - Rs. 300

Monthly Expenses - Rs. 9000

 

Cost-benefit per month - Rs. 9000-2100 = Rs. 6900

Monthly km covered = 3000 km

Yearly cost Benefit = Rs. 6900 * 12 = Rs. 82,800

 

Now the company is providing a warranty of 5 years or 1,20,000 kms. Let's just calculate for 1,20,000 kms and find out how much can you save up to 1,20,000 km. Obviously, your vehicle won't die post 1,20,000 kms but this is just giving you a round figure about your savings after you cross 1,20,000 kms.

 

Cost-benefit per km = Rs. 6900/3000 = Rs. 2.3 saved per km in electricity.

Cost saved for 1,20,000 kms = 1,20,000 x 2.3 = Rs. 2,76,000.

 

Even after you cross your warranty, your vehicle will still be usable and you can still run it for many more kms which will be the additional savings.

 

3. 4-Wheeler EVs:

 

People are quite skeptical when it comes to 4-wheeler EVs as its having high initial costs + there is uncertainty about the charging infrastructure. As a result, they tend to choose 2-wheeler EVs more easily over 4-wheeler EVs. Even the higher initial costs create a mental state where they are scared about the longevity of these EVs and whether they will be able to recover the costs by the time their EVs remain functional.

 

Now when we consider the case of EV cars, they are equipped with generally 2 types of Batteries. It includes either LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) or NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide) batteries. Both are types of Lithium Ion Batteries and have different behavior during their life cycle of charging and discharging. We will keep the technical aspect of both these batteries for another article and just give a brief overview of them.

 

a.      LFP batteries: The majority of EVs coming in today’s market are equipped with LFP batteries. There are several benefits of using LFP batteries in cars over NMC batteries which are mentioned below.

·        Lower cost over NMC batteries for the same kWh capacity.

·        Longer Life as compared to NMC batteries due to very slow battery degradation.

·        Capable to withstand more harsh environmental conditions as compared to NMC batteries.

Compared to this, LFP batteries have certain disadvantages too which makes premium automobile makers try to avoid the use of LFP battery chemistry for their vehicles. Some of these disadvantages are mentioned below.

 

·        Lower energy density per kw. This will require more battery size for the same amount of total battery capacity.

·        Very difficult to understand and maintain the LFP battery chemistry by BMS system when used in Electric Vehicles.

·        Memory effect which was earlier considered as not visible in Lithium Ion batteries were found to be present in LFP chemistry which is absent in NMC.

 

b.     NMC Batteries: Unlike LFP batteries which are used in affordable EVs, NMC batteries are the mainstream choice in premium EVs and the ones were its required to fit more kw hour of the battery pack in the limited space of the car. We have discussed here several advantages and limitations of using NMC battery packs in various electric vehicles.

 

Advantages of NMC battery packs:

 

·        Higher energy density for the same size of the battery pack as compared to LFP chemistry.

·        No memory effect so it's quite easy to handle the battery pack by BMS system.

·        Battery State of Charge (SOC) is in a linear relationship with the Voltage of cells, which makes SOC calculations quite easier.

 

Disadvantages of NMC battery packs:

 

·        Lesser life cycle as compared to LFP battery packs, hence shorter life.

·        As the battery chemistry is a little unstable, its surrounding climatic stability is less which makes it a less safe battery pack. However, with the use of a proper thermal management system, this can be solved.

·        Lesser usage range as NMC battery packs with Active Balancer (if provided) is recommended to be used around 50% SoC. So it's best for the battery to be used only between 20 to 80% SoC.

 

Even after looking at various Advantages and Disadvantages, both battery packs are used in different ways based on their likely segment of launch. For example, most of the high-performance EVs still prefer NMC battery packs over LFP battery packs. Now majority of users are concerned about why they should choose an EV over conventional ICE engine vehicles. For that, let's consider some points where EVs stand much further.

Pros of Choosing an EV:

 

1.     Low Running cost: With running costs as low as 80 paise to 1 rupee. EVs tend to be more effective than ice-engine vehicles over a longer period of time. If you are planning to keep the car for a minimum of 1.5 lakh kms, then you would be saving almost 12 lakh rupees driving that vehicle as compared to petrol counterparts. So, EVs appear to be costly over the upfront cost, but they tend to be cost-effective over a longer period of time.

2.     Great Pickup: When we talk about EVs, they stand much ahead of their ICE counterparts in terms of pickup which they offer. So when you are going for tough roads, EVs would be the best companion for you to travel through tough roads.

3.     Quieter Drive: This pro can be liked by several people while some might even dislike it. Some people do like the noise of an ICE engine car. Those people might not like driving a car that is completely silent. But some people might like the car which is completely silent, has zero vibrations, and also a smoother ride.

4.     Greater Stability: An EV car tends to provide more stability than its ICE counterparts. This is mainly because of their weight and their high-weight battery pack lies at the center of the car and below. Doing that its center of gravity is at the lowest position and at the center of the car.

 

Cons of choosing an EV

 

1.     Longer charging times: It is quite evident that EVs will take a longer period of time to charge themselves as compared to conventional ICE cars. Even when you are fast charging your car, still most EVs take around 40 to 50 minutes to charge from 0 to 80%. This is mainly because most of the EVs take more time to charge post 80%.

2.     Lack of Roadside Maintenance: As ICE vehicles have matured, we can expect roadside garages to be repaired in case of our car breakdown. But the same we can't expect for the case of EV cars yet. This is mainly because it's still a new technology and most of the technical stuff is retained by the company itself. Hence it becomes difficult for the third-party repair shops to handle EV repair.

3.     Glitches: Lots of people complain that EVs are faced with glitches in their software. A little bit of this is true due to newer technology. But we also face similar kinds of glitches in ICE cars (Petrol or Diesel Cars). But none of the people are complaining for the simple fact if there are no petrol cars then people have no other choice.

 

Sharing all the critical facts about EVs will give you a clear idea about why you should be choosing an EV over an ICE car. It's not false to say that in the future EVs will likely be more popular than their ICE car counterparts.