[ADI7YAK]

Kona Electric at 80k kilometers - Cost of ownership

Greetings everyone! I have owned my Kona Electric for a little over 20 months and it recently completed 80 thousand kilometers. Here's a detailed cost breakup of owing and maintaining the car, as well as a rough calculation of how much money I have saved compared to a petrol automatic and a diesel automatic car of a similar size and price.

My aim is to keep this thread precise and update it with upcoming milestones as they come by. I hope this helps people understand economics of owning an EV over a long term and helps people who are uncertain about making the switch.




Starting with a overview which provides key facts about usage of the car.

-Total of almost 11 megawatts were used to drive 80k km for a total cost of Rs. 91480. This includes both home charging as well as public charging.

-Charging at public charging stations is twice as expensive. Understandably though since they are much faster and push way more energy into the battery than home charger.




Here's few more interesting insights,

-Total cost of maintaining the car, which includes regular service and other wear and tear items such as wiper blades, bulbs, etc comes to around Rs. 18500. Quite cheap in my opinion.

-Running cost comes to a little over Rs 1/km. There is a slight error in this figure since home charging is billed every month, but I have to tried to minimize the error since billing cycle starts from 7th day of each month (i.e yesterday onward for month of June).

-Highest expense so far is for tyres. Mine worn out within 50k km. I blame it on the 400nm of torque coupled with front wheel drive and my right foot.

-90% of the charging is done at home while remaining 10% is done at public charging stations. These include operators such as Tata Power, Fortum, Statiq, ChargeZone, etc.



Quick glance at my monthly home charging bills.

-Do note that October 2020 till December 2020 are my rough estimates since car was being charged from home meter. Afterwards I got a dedicated meter with Rs. 7.5/unit all inclusive flat tariff (compared to slab tariff of normal domestic meter)

-Unusual dip in average rate of April 2022 is unexplained and I'd rather let it be.



Here is a breakup of maintenance costs.
-Regular servicing usually costs Rs. 2.6k and only includes labour charges unless there is a part to be changed such as air filter in March 2022 or a small cornering light bulb which went kaput in June 2022.

-There was a manufacturing defect in factory provided "Nexen" branded tyre which was replaced under warranty. In fact, three of the tyres were replaced. One burst after hitting a pothole and other two had bulges.

-Two of steering bolts were replaced under warranty quite early in the ownership.

-As stated above, highest expense so far is tyre replacement which costed a whopping Rs. 48k.

-Battery was replaced under warranty at around 65k km. This move came since a couple cars in Canada and South Korea caught fire while charging and hence almost all cars globally were recalled and fitted with new batteries. Good for me though.

-Other items under "repairs" include denting (a coconut fell on the car) and wheel well plastic liner which broke and was replaced for Rs. 4.4k (exclusive of GST)



A quick cost comparison with Creta Petrol Automatic, Creta Diesel Automatic and my ex Hexa Diesel Automatic.

-Efficiency on the Creta was taken from various owners' reports here on TeamBHP and these of course exclude maintenance costs.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

Kona Electric at 80k kilometers - Cost of ownership

My aim is to keep this thread precise and update it with upcoming milestones as they come by. I hope this helps people understand economics of owning an EV over a long term and helps people who are uncertain about making the switch.

This is great. Wonderful running in those 20 months to be honest. It is not common for an average joe to cover that mileage so you have the opportunity to make the most of the EVs

You have not added service cost for ICE cars above but that will anyway increase your savings

I wonder if there is a possibility for you to put a personal Solar Panel? Difficult in apartments but possible in independent houses. That may just allow you to run the car for free I suppose.

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by sunilch

I wonder if there is a possibility for you to put a personal Solar Panel? Difficult in apartments but possible in independent houses. That may jus tallow you to run the car for free I suppose.

We do have an own terrace and are actively considering getting a 4-5kWp (?) solar system installed. If not for the car, at least for the home.

[Mumbaiker]

That is some super running in 20 months! Congratulations. Thank you for the detailed cost breakup. 4.5L to 6L is a significant amount of savings over the short period of time. Will definitely help prospective EV buyers.

Just wondering if you have taken the car towards Konkan and how was the charging experience on that side of the state.

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

Just wondering if you have taken the car towards Konkan and how was the charging experience on that side of the state.

I have taken it to Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg once. To be honest the charging infrastructure is just non existent in Konkan coast. Goa however has good charging infrastructure. If one is going for a vacation and staying at a hotel, one could try asking for a 15amp plug. That’s the best bet so far.

[BhaskarG]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

I have owned my Kona Electric for a little over 20 months and it recently completed 80 thousand kilometers.

That is some incredible mileage, at par with commercial vehicles. Just curious: how, and where? Looking at the kilometers and the time it took, it appears that it was done mostly on long highway trips.

Did you face any difficulties doing long trips with the current charging infrastructure? The EV vs petrol vs diesel analysis is tempting enough otherwise.

[Palio_2005]

Hi. Good to know that you have had a good experience with your Kona. In your comparison, you have not included the higher capital cost and interest paid on the capital. This is important when making a comparison of ICE vs EV.

Anyways keep enjoying your car and wait for your posts

[Eddy]

Thanks for the figures.

One question though - how much range degradation did you notice when the battery was 65k kms old, compared to when it was new?

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

Just curious: how, and where? Looking at the kilometers and the time it took, it appears that it was done mostly on long highway trips.

Did you face any difficulties doing long trips with the current charging infrastructure?

Kona has been our primary car since last one year after our other car, a Tata Hexa totaled in a flood (a whole different episode which will require another thread) so it’s being driven everywhere possible. My dad’s office commute requires him to drive 50km a day plus his nature of work also requires him to take the car on highways. Most of it though has been within 500km. I too take the car on highways almost every weekend, because why not. A trip to Mahabaleshwar costs a little over ₹300 since the car does it in a single charge, so it’s quite tempting to just get up and drive 150km only to have that strawberry cream at Mapro.


About charging infrastructure, most of the big cities have at least a couple DC fast chargers. Even Tier 2 cities like Satara and Karad have DC fast chargers. For other areas like Konkan which I mentioned above unavailability of chargers and irregular power supply can be a bit of a challenge. One good way around this is just installing Type 2 AC chargers at hotels, guesthouses, etc. Guests can charge their cars overnight, plus it’s nowhere near as expensive to set up as a DC charger. We’re talking about ₹70k for a AC charger to anywhere between ₹2.5 to ₹10l for a DC one.

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

Hi. Good to know that you have had a good experience with your Kona. In your comparison, you have not included the higher capital cost and interest paid on the capital. This is important when making a comparison of ICE vs EV.

Well, I have also not included the maintenance an ICE would require over these 80k km due to lack of reliable data (but mostly me being lazy) I'm more than sure it would be far more than Rs. 18k that was spent on the Kona. So one could work around with that. On EVs there is Rs 1.5 lakh deduction available under Section 80 which I have not considered since I wanted this post to be only about day to day running costs.

A Creta petrol top end costs Rs 21l on road. Forget Creta and Seltos, while buying Kona I had calculated costs with respect to a Venue which is a good Rs.10L cheaper. My brother has one in top spec iMT guise and I can say with utmost confidence that Kona trumps Venue in all categories including safety ratings. The difference in an Indian made Venue and a CKD Kona is night and day and Kona is worth every single penny of those extra Rs.10L spent. The only pain point of the Kona is rear seats which can be a bit too cramped for tall adults.

Originally Posted by Eddy

Thanks for the figures.

One question though - how much range degradation did you notice when the battery was 65k kms old, compared to when it was new?

There was no noticeable degradation observed in those 65k km. In fact, there was no problem with the battery at all. It's just that Hyundai wanted to change the batteries no matter what.

[busydrive]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

There was no noticeable degradation observed in those 65k km. In fact, there was no problem with the battery at all. It's just that Hyundai wanted to change the batteries no matter what.

So you changed the battery at 65k km? Why was it changed and does Hyundai proactively change battery? Not getting this as usually the battery warranty is for 80k kms.

[Atom]

80k in 20 months is an amazing mileage on an EV considering the range anxiety that most of us are bothered about. Your EV experience is encouraging for people wanting to switch to an EV but are worried about the various aspects of an EV ownership.

If I may ask, it would be great if you could provide more information on the availability and reliability of charging infrastructure on the different routes you covered during your ownership.

Wishing you lots more happier miles with the Kona and waiting for many more posts from you throwing light on various aspects of owning an EV. Happy Motoring.

[cka]

Originally Posted by busydrive

So you changed the battery at 65k km? Why was it changed and does Hyundai proactively change battery? Not getting this as usually the battery warranty is for 80k kms.

There were reports of fire in Kona which led to worldwide battery replacement by Hyundai. Check out this thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...s-india-6.html (Hyundai Kona EV owners face battery issues & breakdowns in India)

[dicor]

Thanks @ADI7YAK,
That's very detailed information and comparison.

It seems to be an optimized savings approach:
1. 90% charging is done at home (cost effective)
2. Further savings by having a separate connection.

So comparing to Diesel HEXA, savings for 1,60,000 KMs would be around 12 lakhs (10 for fuel + 2 for scheduled maintenance). If 30% of charging is done at public infrastructure, savings would be reduced to 8 lakhs.

I am assuming that a Diesel HEXA would cover 160K kms in 10 years and even after that engine will have enough juice left to run another 160KMs or another 10 years. (If govt allows)

What about an electric vehicle? Kona or Nexon? I believe we will have to change the battery. What will be the cost of changing battery?

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by busydrive

So you changed the battery at 65k km? Why was it changed and does Hyundai proactively change battery? Not getting this as usually the battery warranty is for 80k kms.

The battery was changed under a global recall. More information here (Hyundai to recall Kona EV over faulty battery cells which can cause fire). Moreover, the battery warranty is 160k km or 8 years whichever earlier. The warranty in itself does not translate to batteries needing to be changed after 8 years. There have been reports of cars going well beyond 160k km with original battery. People often make a mistake thinking EV batteries are same as mobile batteries which is far from the truth. EV batteries have much more advanced management system and are actively liquid cooled.

Originally Posted by Atom

If I may ask, it would be great if you could provide more information on the availability and reliability of charging infrastructure on the different routes you covered during your ownership.

Thanks! Just head over to PlugShare website and you will see all the chargers available here in India. Let me add that PlugShare has been EV drivers' go to app for finding and reviewing public chargers in India. Going by the reviews, almost all Nexon EV owners seem to be using this app.

Originally Posted by dicor

I am assuming that a Diesel HEXA would cover 160K Kms in 10 years and even after that engine will have enough juice left to run another 160KMs or another 10 years. (If govt allows)

What about an electric vehicle? Kona or Nexon? I belive we will have to change the battery. What will be the cost of changing battery?

Speaking of Hexa, mine (2019 with 45k km on odo) broke down at a remote place in Kokan because a few droplets of water went in the engine bay apparently. It was then towed to nearest service center at Mahad where it later got flooded while undergoing repairs, so I'm not sure if a Hexa will last even 5 years, forget about 10 of them, but as I said that's a topic for a different day.

Back to EVs, as I said earlier there are reports of EVs being driven way more than 160k km without needing a battery change with a slight dip in range of course. Here's one of such examples. I think BYD E6 in Indian market offers 5 lakh km battery warranty as well.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

There was no noticeable degradation observed in those 65k km. In fact, there was no problem with the battery at all. It's just that Hyundai wanted to change the batteries no matter what.

That's a pleasant surprise. In my mind, range degradation as the battery undergoes 100s of charging cycles is a big unknown in the EV scenario. We don't want to be stuck with a car that can only do 60-70% of its original range after 40k kms.