[serious_maniac]

As far as Kona's or any EV's pricing is concerned, there is also a challenge of how these companies calculate and amortise the costs. The traditional car companies are very scared of EVs and the disruption caused to their well built ecosystem. So they tread cautiously, do not build economies of scale quickly (even if they can) and price the cars high - all waiting to see the impact and perhaps spread the impact to a longer horizon - in which time they can figure out how to manage the vast factories and investments. So EVs not only cost more because of raw materials, they also cost more because of the "fear of unknown" that all car companies have. So the prices are going to remain high till these companies can manage transition and I think that will be 10 years or so.

~m

[Jerryaj]

Have not seen the vehicle in person, but going by the pictures seems to be of the size comparable with i20 Active or may be tad bit more. If that is the case should be good enough on the inside space wise. And, If the range as mentioned holds true then it will suit all my needs (intracity travel, my usual trips to Bangalore and my native, my wife's native all are within the range). The vehicle does excite me, but pocket is discouraging me.

Any chances government will abolish the toll charges for EV .

[speedmiester]

Hyundai has priced it at what they have been mentioning all these time.
Would love to buy the Kona, but will wait for inevitable reduction in price due to GST cut

[sen2009]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Note: Ignore ARAI range of 452 KMs. ARAI method probably worst in range calculation and its even worse than NEDC method which used in China and EU previously. EU is now using WLTP which is much better.

Calculating running costs for EVs is very easy. Here is the comparison for Kona EV vs Honda City petrol:

Kona EV: It has 39.2 kWh battery. kWh is the electricity unit that we get on our home electricity bills. So to fully charge this Kona EV it requires ~40 units of electricity. Cost of electricity depends where you live. For Bangalore its Rs 7.8 at highest slab. Assuming its Rs 8 per unit, it costs Rs 320 for full charge.

Actual range of Kona is closer to 250 KMs. So it costs Rs 320 for 250 KMs distance. EVs range degradation will be much less in cities compared to petrol/diesel vehicles. Highway speeds (120KM+) range degradation will be much higher for EVs though. But those speeds are not legal in our highways anyway.

Honda City: To travel 250 KMs in city conditions assuming your 15 kmpl it needs 16.66 liters and ~Rs 1250. I own Honda City and my average mileage in city is ~11 kmpl. At that mileage, it costs Rs 1700 for 250KMs.

As Hyundai mentioned in their website, charging costs will be 1/5th of fuel costs. Maintenance, service costs also will be very less. But still the initial purchase costs are too high to make economic sense at this point. Hopefully, with more competition, economies of scale and battery price declines we will see compelling EVs at lesser prices (~Rs 15 lakhs) in next 3-4 years.

Thank you for the detailed calculation.

In Maharashtra is Rs. 4.50 at highest slab, which means Rs. 180 for a full charge. Assuming 250 KM range, that's less than 75 paisa per KM.

This is stunningly cheap!

If the annual service cost comes to less than Rs. 1000-1500 as opposed to at least Rs. 10,000 for a petrol or diesel car.

The Rs. 2.5 Lacs savings (Business Standard quoting Fin Min) over loan period will help to somewhat reduce the EMI burden.

The only real cost concern is the battery replacement. That probably may cost 4 or 5 Lakhs and will absolutely kill all the savings generated over the years.
Battery replacement cost of Nissan Leaf 40 kWh is USD 5500, i.e. Rs. 3.85 Lakhs give or take. Kona battery should cost somewhere near this.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by Jerryaj

Going by the pictures seems to be of the size comparable with i20 Active or may be tad bit more.
Any chances government will abolish the toll charges for EV .

The space is less than i20, see Autocar India review. The government can utilize the toll amount to provide fast charging stations near toll booths. Any break of an hour during a long distance travel should be the ideal time for charging.

[giri1.8]

What so many calculations are missing out is uncertain petrol price, with lot of international issues, petrol could easily go beyond 85rs/litre mark!

Most of the petrol engines return only around 8 to 10 km/litre in heavy traffic in metro cities. This would be close to 8rs/km with the current price and I am not even talking about petrol auto SUVs here!

IF the government decides to ban 10+ year old diesels, then the cost of battery replacement goes out of the equation, since most people would cover less than 1.6L km covered by Hyundai.

EVs are catching up fast, hope they make me ditch my ICE cars soon.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by aniyo

I sincerely believe all the taxes should be off the electric car, even for CBU. No import tax not GST and No road tax for a period of 5 years. Let the manufacturers build some traction in the market then we can levy taxes for CBU and benefits for CKD or local production.

There will be an inventive to develop the infra as well. Right now we need to assure minimum volumes for any manufacturer to set shop in India and with the current outlook no one will plonk big money upfront.

Do you really think government cares to make that happen? You must be living in a different country than me
Fuel is being taxed at 100% and government has been increasing the taxes constantly. They will not encourage electric since it will reduce their tax collection.

[Aditya_Bhp]

Originally Posted by mxh

Do you really think government cares to make that happen? You must be living in a different country than me
Fuel is being taxed at 100% and government has been increasing the taxes constantly. They will not encourage electric since it will reduce their tax collection.

Instead of reducing tax on electric vehicles to make them cheaper, the govt will further increase the price of petrol and petrol cars to till they become equal to electrics.

[sgiitk]

Norway says subsidy is the way, so it may take a lot more than tax cuts. UP is still to come to terms, Kanpur RTO is discussing what to do with EVs.

I will suggest that this is high time that the centre takes the bull by the horns. Take car registration out of the purview of the states and have a uniform policy. Will also make the nationwide mobility a natural consequence.

Once this is done subsidies or whatever on EVs is a natural.

[reihem]

Got a call from Hyundai. They’ve set up my test drive for tomorrow (11th). I’m pretty excited. I drove a Model X in SF. I have no delusions about the two being comparable in anyway, but I’m looking forward to things like all the toque being available all the time for sure ! I was patiently waiting for the leaf till this was announced. I’ll wait till I see her in the flesh, but I’m half ready to bite the bullet tomorrow.

[Sebring]

In Bangalore, Test drives are available at two locations, Trident, Yelahanka and Advaith, Bellandur. Both are really, really far. So I doubt if I'll take a Test Drive. Hyundai defintely isn't expecting a good response. Their online form seems to have a glitch and stops at STATE. Maybe some iOS issue.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by sen2009

The only real cost concern is the battery replacement. That probably may cost 4 or 5 Lakhs and will absolutely kill all the savings generated over the years.
Battery replacement cost of Nissan Leaf 40 kWh is USD 5500, i.e. Rs. 3.85 Lakhs give or take. Kona battery should cost somewhere near this.

Hyundai is giving 8 years/1,60,000 kms warranty on battery.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Hyundai is giving 8 years/1,60,000 kms warranty on battery.

This is just a marketing gimmick, when there will be warranty claim, they will give various excuses to deny the warranty. The other disadvantage which I foresee is monopoly of after sales service by dealerships.

[reignofchaos]

Gonna request for a test drive once the initial hoopla dries out. This might end up being a good city runabout for me and my wife.

It is time to move away from fossil fuel vehicles as soon as we can to save the planet.

I like what Hyundai is doing here - they have brought in a safe modern EV which people would want to buy before anyone else could..

[locusjag]

Having just seen the Kona in a TV ad, I realized that I saw a Kona and 2 other camouflaged Hyundai cars near Oragadam (in Chennai where the Hyundai factory is) this past Sunday. The Kona alone wasn't camouflaged and its distinctive front grille stood out.

Sidestepping to another related topic - does anyone know if Lithium ion batteries are getting safer now? I know that the electrodes meet by crystal formation and the resultant short-circuit has lead to what we know as the exploding smartphones, the burning gyro scooters and smoking power banks. All airlines around the world insist on you placing any Lithium ion battery-equipped gizmos in cabin luggage. Too many aircraft have had to make emergency landings in the recent past because a checked-in gizmo began smoking away, thanks to its Lithium ion battery. I remember a viral video where a smoking laptop in the overhead carry-on luggage bay was put out in-flight by a stewardess with a lemonade jug.

One also remembers Hammond's smouldering electric car wreck on "The Grand Tour". How (un)safe is the battery tech these days?