Elon Musk and his Tesla have taken the world for a ride! With Launches of Model 3 in 2016 and the latest reveal of Cyber Truck has got the world on toes again, especially the car enthusiast. With Model 3, Tesla has given the world its first mass-market, fully electric car, and first mass-market electric truck with the Cyber Truck. Both are phenomenal vehicles in their segments
This has got the Indian car market up with many questions.
First being, when will we have our fully Electric Car?
Actually, we do have. It’s surprising to hear but we have a bunch of options to choose from when it comes to mass market Electric cars.
Tata Tigor EV, MG ZS are and Hyundai Krona are the top choices from the current lineup of E-cars in India. Audi E-Tron, Tata Altroz EV are two to look for in the future. Tata promises Tigor EV with 40 bhp power and 250km of range; while Hyundai claims to have the longest range in any production car in India, around 450km (280 miles).
Well
it turns out we do have our own line up of E-cars and it’s quite vivacious too.
That brings us to second question, should we switch to EV?
Usually, I would say it rests on your preferences, however, this case is a bit different, Electrification of transport is more of a necessity than a choice. Increasing pollution and rising global temperatures have accentuated the need for an alternative to the combustion of prehistoric vegetation remains, fossil fuels. After decades of R&D, the industry has found EVs to be the best suitable substitution of traditionally fueled vehicles. Delhi is a prime example to understand the gravity of the crisis; we all are aware of the dense cover of smog that swallows the city whole in every winter. The state government identifies vehicular pollution as a major contributor and has passed legislation on banning cars on the street based on their license plates.
The issue is far more series than being portrayed by Indian media. The rising sea levels would inundate the coastal cities in a few decades if the rate of global warming is not hindered. And thus, the role of Electric Vehicles proves crucial in not just saving the planet but futuristic transports.
What are the other benefits of
switching to Electric Vehicles?
So saving the world is not enough for you. Fortunately, Electric cars do have a few advantages over their petrol siblings.
I. Instant Torque
Tesla Model S P100D became a sensation after breaking record time for 0-100 mph, setting a new milestone of 2.28 sec which to date remains as fastest of all production cars. So to contradict the common belief of Electric equals to Slow, watch Tesla Model S P100D.
II. No Gears
Yes! you heard it right! Unlike petrol engines, Electric motors provide quiet similar torque profile over a broad bandwidth of speed. To accommodate the varying torque profile of the petrol engine, a giant gearbox is mounted with the engine. With Electric, the Gearbox is a goner. Just floor the pedal and propel.
III. Futuristic cars
Many EV manufacturers are coming with futuristic designs of their cars, not just Telsa, but Faraday Future, Rivian are few of the new players in the market who are coming up with totally unpredictable design patterns, ideas. Unlike conventional manufactures, these startups have no 100-year-old legacy to follow while designing new concepts, rather they have blank canvases and will to stroke new designs.
That being said, recently the big players have also rolled their sleeves up and are coming ahead with new futuristic designs.
IV. Autonomous Driving
If you’re still unconvinced, here’s the most exciting
feature of EVs. Many EVs come fitted with autonomous driving feature, a feature
said to cruise on motorways without an intervention from driver. Tesla again
leading the charge here, completing One million miles with autonomous driving in
their Model S. The feature also gives you an added benefit of summoning your
car; Yes! You can summon your car from parking to you.
Now, on to the most important question, Are we ready for this changeover??
My honest answer would be, NO! We are nowhere ready for such a huge changeover in our transportation systems. This can be understood in two aspects.
Firstly, switching to all gas to all electrical is no piece of cake. This will require huge changes in numerous aspects of the industry, we are talking about shifting an entire industry. To make things worse, the change is taking place in one of history’s worst-ever decline in the auto industry, such circumstances would make it extremely difficult for EVs to burgeon in the market. Especially in India, where the auto sector has been hit with as high as 14% negative growth in 2019 only. The government has planned to switch over 50 % of vehicles to EVs by 2030, which seems difficult today as buyers are more reluctant to invest in the first place, in these scenarios expecting buyers to experiment with their choices and choosing EVs over petrol cars is scarcely possible.
Secondly, the sustainability of EVS. We are focusing on the Indian market, so let’s take in the factor of sustainability of EVs in India. It is but obvious that EVs run on electricity and thus eliminating pollution. Benedict Cumberbatch is keen on making us believe that we are reducing pollution when we switch to electric. However, that’s not entirely true. A country like India which burns coal for more than 56% of its power requirement cannot boast the introduction of EVs in their fleet. Unlike the USA, which employs Natural Gas and Nuclear Fission for over half of their electricity can sustain Electric cars.
A conventional coal-based power plant burns coal which is three to four times more polluting than burning petrol in your regular car. One may argue that the power plants are situated away from the population; however, the impact on a global scale will not change unless you are situating it on Mars; Elon might.
The other factors are yet to be considered, the transportation of Liquid fuel has fewer losses than the transmission line of electricity, the Fuel in your tank won’t degrade like the charge in your battery.
The Fossil fuels are on a limited supply, but so is Lithium. Many have argued that Lithium Mining is causing major ecological problems. This poses a major limitation in manufacturing on EVs as there is no alternative to Lithium-Ion batteries.
The third and Final factor would be Infrastructure. Electric Vehicles often require charging to run. The EV manufacturers boast about their extra long-range, yet you need to charge them every now and then. Tesla has established a wide network of supercharges around the United States. These superchargers charge your car from zero to full, in less than two hours. However, these chargers are situated on highway stops, or in commercial places. The places you probably will not visit on your daily routes. So normal daily drivers would charge the vehicles at their homes or offices while they're sleeping or working to avoid extra stoppage time. This is where the main problem surfaces. At 110 V or 230V, a standard EV will take up to 40 hours to charge fully. This is the problem EVs need to solve before taking over the entire transportation system.
Talking about India, we are will need to invest heavily on the supercharger network, considering India's geography, the cost will be ginormous.
We can go on for hours debating about the sustainability of EVs in today's world. But what we can take away is The Change is inevitable. Electric is the Future. And India needs more unconventional power production before electrifying its Transportation system
My honest answer would be, NO! We are nowhere ready for such a huge changeover in our transportation systems. This can be understood in two aspects.
Firstly, switching to all gas to all electrical is no piece of cake. This will require huge changes in numerous aspects of the industry, we are talking about shifting an entire industry. To make things worse, the change is taking place in one of history’s worst-ever decline in the auto industry, such circumstances would make it extremely difficult for EVs to burgeon in the market. Especially in India, where the auto sector has been hit with as high as 14% negative growth in 2019 only. The government has planned to switch over 50 % of vehicles to EVs by 2030, which seems difficult today as buyers are more reluctant to invest in the first place, in these scenarios expecting buyers to experiment with their choices and choosing EVs over petrol cars is scarcely possible.
Secondly, the sustainability of EVS. We are focusing on the Indian market, so let’s take in the factor of sustainability of EVs in India. It is but obvious that EVs run on electricity and thus eliminating pollution. Benedict Cumberbatch is keen on making us believe that we are reducing pollution when we switch to electric. However, that’s not entirely true. A country like India which burns coal for more than 56% of its power requirement cannot boast the introduction of EVs in their fleet. Unlike the USA, which employs Natural Gas and Nuclear Fission for over half of their electricity can sustain Electric cars.
A conventional coal-based power plant burns coal which is three to four times more polluting than burning petrol in your regular car. One may argue that the power plants are situated away from the population; however, the impact on a global scale will not change unless you are situating it on Mars; Elon might.
The other factors are yet to be considered, the transportation of Liquid fuel has fewer losses than the transmission line of electricity, the Fuel in your tank won’t degrade like the charge in your battery.
The Fossil fuels are on a limited supply, but so is Lithium. Many have argued that Lithium Mining is causing major ecological problems. This poses a major limitation in manufacturing on EVs as there is no alternative to Lithium-Ion batteries.
The third and Final factor would be Infrastructure. Electric Vehicles often require charging to run. The EV manufacturers boast about their extra long-range, yet you need to charge them every now and then. Tesla has established a wide network of supercharges around the United States. These superchargers charge your car from zero to full, in less than two hours. However, these chargers are situated on highway stops, or in commercial places. The places you probably will not visit on your daily routes. So normal daily drivers would charge the vehicles at their homes or offices while they're sleeping or working to avoid extra stoppage time. This is where the main problem surfaces. At 110 V or 230V, a standard EV will take up to 40 hours to charge fully. This is the problem EVs need to solve before taking over the entire transportation system.
Talking about India, we are will need to invest heavily on the supercharger network, considering India's geography, the cost will be ginormous.
We can go on for hours debating about the sustainability of EVs in today's world. But what we can take away is The Change is inevitable. Electric is the Future. And India needs more unconventional power production before electrifying its Transportation system
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