5 Problems in EV Cars. Know what you need to know before Buying EV
08 March 2023 by Gagan Modi
5 Problems in EV Cars. Know what you need to know before Buying EV Car in India.
EV Car Problems
EV - Electric Vehicle Segment now is the fastest growing segment of Indian Car Market with number of Models as
- Tata Tiago EV, Tigor EV, Nexon EV, Nexon EV Max
- Mahdindra XUV400 EV
- Citroen Ec3
- MG Zs EV, BYD Atto
- Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq5
- and few premium EV Cars from Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW
and many more EV cars to be added in near future in Indian Market. But there remains 5 Fundamental Problems or shall i say issues with EV Cars
1. Limited Range with High Charging Time: One of the biggest misconceptions is about range. As what come in ARAI Numbers as range of Tiago EV Long range as 315 Kms or Nexon EV Max as 453 Kms or Ioniq5 range as 631 Kms
Our Study test with different EV Cars as driven that for regular usage in city or highway basis average Indian Traffic conditons is 65% of what claimed ARAI Number as what achieved. So if you set in realistic expectation like 200 Kms of Tiago EV, 300 Kms in Nexon EV Max or 400 Kms with Ioniq5 should be what reasonable expectation.
When Battery comes to near 80% Discharge - Fast Charing Option at residence (with 7 KWH battery) means you need minimum 15 KW Load at home which is not there with many multistorey apartments and even if you have it will take minimum 6 to 7 hours for full charge basis battery capacity. While regular charging can take more than 12 Hours.
50 KWH Charging options are only available in commercial and very few handful setups - as what claimed to charge in 50 minutes.
Lastly - although all EV Cars in india uses LPF batteries which are different than Normal NMC battery as what used in laptop and phones, and can easily last in 700 to 800 Charging Cycle - but expect some deteioration in Battery capacity in long term range after around 1.5 Lakh Kms or so.
2. Very High Battery Replacement Cost: Battery, although part of 8 Year / 1.6 Lakh Kms (Warranty whichever earlier as most of EV Cars except Citroen where its 7 yrs), but if goes Kaput due to any reason then replacement cost can be significant to extent in several Lakhs (depending on how small or large the battery is. For Instance a 30 KWH Battery can cost in near Rs 6 Lakh)
Pls dont compare Internal Combustion Engines Reliability with Battery Cars - Battery cars is a recent concept and will undergo too many changes in near medium term before speaking about reliability
3. Battery not covererd at 100% Cost in Insurance by Most of the Insurance Companies: Bottom line fact remains, that even if you take Zero Depreciation Car Insurance - Battery wont be covered at 100% Replacement cost (if car meets an accident and battery needs replacement). Most of the Insurance companies dont offer 100% Battery Replacement cost.
4. Not Go Green: Yes - No Fuel is burned, no Emissions but as what pitched by EV Industry across the world as go green. EV Cars are not go green as Battery Manufacturing is done through many precious metals like Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium which in itself comes from mining and a tremendous amount of pollution is what will be created, Even such large battery disposal in future would be a big environmental hapzard.
5. Changing Technology in Near Future: EV Cars undergoing too much transformation and we anticipate that with changing technology - EV Cars will tend to much more improved in battery type in future.
Like in Cars like XUV400 EV in NMC Battery, Citoren C3 also uses NMC Battery. While for Indian Roads having Tropical climate - LFP Batteries makes all sense. There are many issues with NMC Battery in countries like India where temperatures can rise to close to 40 to 45 degree celsius, this type of battery just speaks low on EV Car Quality itself, where life of such Batteries would definite be a question.
Also improved range will make the proposition viable in near future of next 3 yrs or so. With Increasing competition - expect technology only to be much better by 2025 end and different from what sold in 2023.
