[cefiljoseph]

As much as I like the advancements and benefits of EV's I don't think I'll buy one in the coming 5-8 years.

My primary problem is getting an EV that matches or is better the current ICE's we have at home. Our 2005 Corolla 1.8, W211 E280 CDI and 2013 Fortuner are cars that are really hard to replace unless we spent significant money.

First is the incredible range we get with these cars. I don't care that much about the fuel economy as long as there is a large enough fuel tank to give good range.

Corolla even with a 1.8 litre crude engine, has a 50 litre fuel tank and with around 14 kilometres of average mileage on long drives no matter how spirited the driving is, it gives around 700 kilometres of range.

W211 too despite having a 3 liter motor, owing to the diesel economy of 12-14 kmpl and the large 80 litre tank, easily gives over a 1000 kms of range.

Fortuner too even similar 3 liter motors, the 10-12 kmpl economy combined with a 70 litre tanks gives around 800 kms of range.

Now coming to cost, it's a complicated situation. None of these cars even new costed over 50 lakhs and even with accounting for inflation it's hard to get EV's that offer the same range, features for a similar price. Adding to that EV's loose crazy money due to inflation. Even for brands like Porsche whose sports cars are immune to depreciation, the Taycan has proven otherwise.

Now, also consider the fact that all the three cars I have mentioned are over a decade old and are still usable. I doubt there is a EV that will serve for 20-25 years like these cars without replacing the battery, tech and motors which obviously is a stupid idea to say the least.

These ICE cars are largely mechanical and EVs are largely electronic. Mechanical stuff breaks and it can just be fixed/replaced relatively easily. Electronics don't break, they degrade. It generally can't be fixed or isn't worth fixing since you would be spending money to get a new 'obselete' part. Just like how anyone with a iPhone 5 won't fix it to keep it running.

These are my primary concerns which holds me back from getting an EV. That said, credit where due, EV's have definitely transformed the industry in critical areas like safety, low running costs and making performance democratic over the years. I look forward to the future where these issues are resolved and there is some sort of stability in the market like the current iPhones for instance where there isn't much change within the generations. 5-8 years down the line, we should see substantially better EVs that can tick all the boxes. Until then, happy to drive all these brilliant ICE cars and extract the last ounce of fun from those.

[Contrapunto]

Voted "Other". My reasons are as follows

(1) Uncertainty on residual values
(2) EV makers not helping their own cause by not giving easy visibility into charging cycles and state of "residual" battery - which is the biggest cost in an EV. Of course (2) affects (1)

I do think though that over time, there will be mechanisms to measure it. For older cars, it may only by possible at the service center and their custom diagnostic equipment, but I am OK with that.

[Auto_guy_101]

Voted multiple options including other. Here's my slightly unconventional take:

I love EVs and have love them for a while now. I love them so much that for a while, the forever delayed Tesla roadster was my dream car. What I loved about EVs was that they were mechanical less complex, insanely fast and quite environment friendly, all for a price less than many sports cars (in my mind it's roadster vs Porsche 911).

However, owning an EV today sounds something like this:

- It makes financial sense to buy mass market EVs and charge them at home (which is a slow process). This car will largely remain a city car, and public charging networks don't factor in because they are more expensive.

- A lot of premium models have entered the EV space but most of these EVs cost a good deal more than their ICE counterparts (ex showroom). While the High initial cost and low running cost (especially given premium ICEs return 5-8 kmpl in the city) calculation don't make sense for these buyers, those EVs are again best used as city cars given our charging network and range.

- There are sporty EVs like the Porsche Taycan but they don't cost significantly less than ICE counterparts.

Basically, EVs in 2024 are amazing city cars if you have a fair bit of commute. You can stretch to 100 km one side trips and you can go shop for an EV in your price range. However, that EV is not for long distance and will be mostly a 2nd car.

In 2024, you can also use the current charging networks to juice up your car while you grab a meal or take a nap, but mostly in emergency situation. Lastly, keep your EV for as long as possible, or atleast don't upgrade under 75k kms/ 5 yrs and your investment would mostly pay off.

[Formula1]

Waiting for people to realise that a used EV should sell at 25-30% of the initial price after 8 years or so. Until then, this is a bubble.

[userAditya]

We got our first family car a long range Tiago EV.

We strictly use the car within a 100 km radius. We don't intend to go beyond that. And mind you the car is used daily for atleast 10-15 kms. So our usage is consistent.

I think we have got used to the slow charging pattern and we plan our short commute, journeys well.

Now ofcourse we will prefer an ICE car next time. That way we can travel outside city if we wish to. Right now we do that via cabs, public transport, private buses. We live in Pune and had thought about visiting places like Mahabaleshwar, Mumbai via Tiago EV but we simply did not wish to go through that fast charging hustle or any problems we could face.

Thing about Tiago EV whic has covered 6000km, we haven;t faced a single issue in driveability. Ofcourse the usual nickels like door closing, door/panel gaps are there but we have got used to it.

The accessories Tata sells like for example the Blaupunkt Dashcam is bad. I do not recommend it.

And I think there should be an option of an extended charging wire for sale. I would have definitely taken it.

Overall I'd definitely recommend an EV car if you wish to use a car within city limits.

Don't know what the future holds for battery and its depletion/degrations, but the 8 year warranty thing kinda relaxes that concern.

[DriverLess]

Poll: Selected multiple options
--
Most consumers do not buy EV or ICE car because one is more net environmentally than other. Also, there is no clear winner as complex unbiased research is required to assess net environment impact of producing, using and recycling a car. Reducing the car usage, not buying a new car and using the current one till the end of its operational life is the best one can do to be green.

Currently this is my thought process (not for EV enthusiasts or early adopters).

Buy an EV if:

1. You need a new car (or second/third car) for the city (~150km max worse case, say airport drop).

2. Buy an EV car which promises complete battery replacement if there is 10-20% drop in battery charge holding capacity in 8 years. Example: I've heard that real world range of Tiago-EV (just for example) is 150km from 100% to 10% charge. With 20% drop you are looking at a car with only 100Km real world range, hence that guarantee is required.

3. Only if you can charge at home. We are a populous country and with current charging speeds it will be a huge inconvenience to compete with others for charging spot, time etc.


Do not buy an EV if:

1. As of now, do not buy an USED EV car. This is an option in the future when battery health (cycles remaining, capacity remaining, dead cells etc) is mentioned on the dashboard just like odo/mileage.

2. If you are primary running is highways. Range, charge points, ability to reach a destination in shortest possible time etc are important to you.

3. Do not create financial burden by forcing an EV onto yourself. EVs are today 30-40% expensive compared to exact same spec petrol automatic and have higher insurance/accident repair costs. Only buy an EV if your budget allows you the ownership.

--
Currently the tech is in its nascent stage and gas options do make sense based on your primary usage. In the future if there are no gas cars and EVs are your only option then we will all adopt to live with it.

[INNOVATOR]

As an existing EV owner, I daresay that I should not be posting on this poll. However, I do strongly feel that EV customers in India are taken for a ride when it comes to Auto makers
Case in point, the recent significant price correction of the ZS EV points to the fact that the co was making hay and taking customers for a ride until they decided to correct, in response to market forces (clear inventory ahead of newer launches???). The price delta between the ICE Astor is another stark reminder.
Another one, being the Kona - an outdated model that continues to be sold in India with deeper discounts every passing year. (Though technically, this is not a reason to avoid EV altogether)
The pricing of the entry level Tata EVs compared to their ICE counterparts is a case study in "How to ripoff your customer" - The easiest defence provided by the auto companies would be the significant cost of the battery. This can't be further away from truth! Lets try to decipher why:
1. EVs have ~60% fewer moving parts (claimed by the same auto companies to justify low maintenance). This also would directly correspond to reduced mfg costs
2. EVs have lower Road taxes in most states compared to ICE
3. EVs used to have end user subsidies (like FAME) unlike ICE that had none

All of the above reasons indicate that a mfgr has significantly more margins to play with in EV as compared to ICE
The sad part is that in India, companies leave very little to none, on the table for consumers.
A consumer adopting early, funding expansion of charging infra, working through the maze of regulations (Electricity board, RWA etc) to get a moderate speed charger installed at his/her place doesn't get anything in return - does it sound similar to the other quagmire that the same set of consumers find themselves in ? (The ones that buy these EVs at exorbitant prices are usually direct tax payers - the minuscule percentage of Indians that gets nothing back - neither good education, healthcare nor social security!)
Enough rant for now!
I for one would use point 2 (low to Nil Road tax) to invest in the best movers that money can buy - they at least have a semblance of parity given the obnoxious taxation on their ICE cousins.

[Evyas]

Voted: Other reasons.
Because there is no option of ‘all of the above’ ! I’ll list them but do keep in mind I absolutely LOVE the EV technology & am fascinated by the almost Asimovoan sci-fi world it denotes for me

My biggest reason to differ is : SPACE. EV cars are horribly tiny for someone who is 6ft plus and has a family that is also tall. They’re pretty much 2 seaters in my case - though to be fair I’ve only tried the Nexon, Punch and MG ZS EV, not even going into the BYD and IONIQ zone because that brings me to the next point.

PRICE - 30L plus for an EV is way too much for me, for a technology that I can’t charge with ease. My home town still has power cuts - we even get drinking water once in 2 days - so to take it there for an extended period of time means anxiety. I am at that age where I want a car that can do duty as a family vehicle too. The back seat knees up position is an issue, more so with seniors with back problems in the family. Plus I really can’t take an EV into the interiors of Rajasthan where sometimes even roads don’t exist. Which is a good segue into

DELICATE - Though the Punch EV was a hoot to drive and I took it over all the Mumbai craters that I could find in my short TD, I’m afraid of taking a car with the battery pack on the floor over the (no) roads scenario in a lot of places in India, including in and around Mumbai. I remember when we went to Dapoli a few years ago, thanks to Google maps we literally ended up in an area that went through some quarries and farm lands. Since I had the Duster I pretty much went along but I always fear for similar detours in EVs because range shiftdowns also happen in such situations. And I have crossed an overflowing river on the way back from Goa among other obstacles, and driven a Swift in the unbearable heat of the desert without worrying about the range dropping or if something happens, who will repair it. Which leads me to

RANGE ANXIETY - I know a lot of knowledgeable people who own and use EVs say it’s all in the mind but I for one wouldn’t want to be stuck on a highway with only 1 charger for the next 50+ kms. Not to mention a lot of the newer highways and expressways have no chargers at all! I know it's only in the present but I can't wait for a government system to get into place and plan a massive investment based on that. So I’d rather recalibrate this to

OPTION ANXIETY - Petrol pump looks seedy/weird, we’ll go to the next one. But with an EV charger you don’t have any other options. You have to charge when you find one. And some of the chargers I’ve seen on the highway I wouldn’t want to stop there with my wife or any women in the car with me especially if it’s later in the day or, god forbid, night. And all this if there is no line at chargers. An ICE I have max waited for 20 minutes, I’ve not had to disembark and go sit in a dinner/lunch/cafe and wait for a ‘refuel’. Which means I don't like the EV

BACKSEAT DRIVING - Again this is my personal issue but when I drive I don’t like to stop at rest areas. We prefer stopping at middle of the journey where the vistas are beautiful or the place has a lot of character and we take pictures and admire the view (from a safe, designated area of course). We tend to load up on food and eat on the way, stopped under the shade of a tree or near a small village, other than bio stops. And with women in the car, even bio stops have to be at clean and safe places so you get my point. I can’t make a stop at an EV charger just because we have a designated stop. Hence, an EV is actually dictating how and when I drive, like that irritating friend who does backseat driving! This is actually part of

INFRA LACKING - Thanks to a desperate cabbie, who was mumbling on an Uber Green drive in that area, there is only ONE public charger around Versova. One! And remember this is one of Mumbai’s posh suburbs. People who live in this area include Bollywood celebs and entrepreneurs among others. Maybe now there are more but I can’t buy an EV because I cannot treat it like a ICE and ‘refuel’ it at the nearby electric fuel pump twice a week. I also include in infra : no FNG being able to fix an EV - not just FNG, I’ve been told by an owner that even the authorised service centre took days to figure it out! (Reminds me of the first batch of aluminium engine REs which I sadly happened to buy the moment it came out - no FNG Bullet specialist in the locality could repair it, not even the die hard Bulleteers I knew. I had to hire a tempo a few times to take it to the authorised centre miles away.) So that part of 'no infra' also worries me. Which connects to

NO OPTIONS FOR RENTERS - Mumbai is a renter city. I’ve been living in the same society and area for decades now but can’t afford to buy a house. There are no EVs in my society and no option to install a charger without going through the intricate ego battlefields of society uncles and auntyjis who are usually so progressive in other parts of life as well When people say the government is ramping up infra, I am looking at something like this:







Where the street lamps near my BIL’s house in London have been repurposed into a charging points for EVs. Until then we’re all at the mercy of building society members and without actual working charging infrastructure an EV is something my parents cannot even think of buying though they have their own house and garage (power cuts daily, and massive ones during monsoons).

Of course keep in mind that these are all mental gymnastics. Some people like them, some don’t. So despite desperately wanting to love and buy an EV, I’m still not convinced by the options an EV offers. I belong to a state that did a massive solar cooking campaign also but nothing really took off. Solar power is still a distant dream so even the ‘non polluting’ aspect of EVs I take with a pinch of salt. All in all, IMO EVs are still city/second/recreational or lifestyle cars. More of a statement. Lord knows I want to make that statement, but I can’t overlook the other bits I just listed.
I don’t buy a car based on resale value or brand. Like most people here (I hope!) buying a car is a very emotional decision. And EVs have ruled my mind, not my heart just yet. And as you can see, even the mind is not fully convinced! Waiting for them to challenge this for sure.

I’m sold on the idea of EVs, I won’t just buy one, just yet..come on Tata Harrier EV, prove me wrong!

[Neversaygbye]

I am quite certain that EVs in their current avatar are the modern equivalent of pagers. The bubble has already started bursting in the West and I am sure that the trend will be carried over to India sooner rather than later. At the end of the day, apart from the fact that acquisition costs are typically higher than their comparable ICE versions along with all the other disadvantages that have already been listed, the most important thing that EVs lack is convenience. We all want convenience - the entire digital economy is built around that. Right now EVs are the very definition of cumbersome for those who do not drive just small distances daily - simply because of the amount of planning required for any kind of long drive. And I'm not even considering range anxiety or the inability of local mechanics to fix an EV should anything go wrong. Most people want a car that can be taken long distances without much planning and is fill it, shut it, and forget it to boot and EVs are anything but that. Maybe they will evolve with swappable batteries and the like, or even a brand new battery technology, but for now I would be willing to bet that they are passing fancies that with time will fade away. I also think that Toyota and Maruti have read the future correctly and will win the game in the long term. Tata and the rest will maintain their dominance in EVs for another couple of years at most, in India at least. Time will tell if I was right.

[whitewing]

For me the three factors are

• Battery range isn't enough for my kind of highway running
• Inadequate and unreliable public charging facilities
• Long charging times compared to IC engine cars

Given the current charging technologies and infrastructure, for unscheduled trips, range anxiety is a really a thing for me.

Consider this scenario that I had some time back.
4pm I'm at work and I get a call saying a dear family member has passed away in our native town ~300kms away.
4:30pm I start from office.
7:00pm I reach home driving in on a wet day, peak hour traffic in BLR
Another hour or so is spent in coordinating with other relatives who would accompany us.
8:30pm we start to native place, by this time it is pouring rain.
3:00am reach my native place (took longer than usual due to the heavy rains we encountered)

Around 7-8 hours of unscheduled travel. A trip that was in the dead of the night, in pouring rain, with elderly folks on board - the last thing I would want to be thinking - is on where is the next charging point? would that be functional?would that place be safe?

I'm sure that in time these will be addressed, till then no EV as a primary vehicle.

[mally2]

I can understand those who say no as the primary vehicle. But if you ever need a second car, An EV is a no brainer and none of the doomsday scenarios mentioned above hold candle.

[Deep Blue]

I don't own an EV yet. I have a diesel and petrol car used by me and wife respectively. The diesel, in addition is the preferred car for highway duties.
When the time comes to change the petrol car, I think I will most probably shift to an EV.

But, among the choices, I have chosen Other because I am still not clear about what will be the resale value of EVs. I hold my cars for 9-10 years by which time the EV's battery would be at the end of its life. The resale value of the car would take a nosedive in such a circumstance. This would be a disadvantage considering the initial high buying cost of an EV today.

[gus]

IMO Hybrids should be preferable to EVs to many because-
- EVs have a limited range and require charging at every 250-300 Km. Inconvenient if you are on a vacation or a road trip. One has to wait for at least 20-30 mins to charge, every 250-300 Km compared to 10 mins of refuelling in ICE cars at every, say, 600-700 Km.
- Hybrids offer a much more balanced value proposition compared to EVs. They are not just more fuel efficient (than ICE) but also give better peace of mind in terms of range. You don't have to take a pit stop every 250-300 Km for charging.
- Inadequate charging infrastructure means that you cannot take your EVs everywhere. Lots of planning will need to be done before you go out on a road trip on your EVs. Compare that to ICE or Hybrids where you can simply pack your bags and go without the headache of refuelling, even during late-night drivings.
- During resale as well, Hybrids IMO will be a preferred choice for many over EVs given battery life anxiety and high cost of replacement.
- Given the tax incentives which EVs enjoy, if we had a level field for Hybrid and EVs, there is no doubt Hybrids will hit the ball out of the park any day, given their value proposition.

I think until a breakthrough technology comes in battery manufacturing which could not just lower the cost but also alleviate range and battery life issues, Hybrids should be the preferred choice for many, including me.

[DustyWanderer]

I have voted for the following options:
- High initial purchase cost
- Battery range isn't enough for my kind of highway running
- Inadequate and unreliable public charging facilities
- Long charging times compared to IC engine cars


There are a couple of other reasons I have for not opting for an EV, and they are
- Hybrid vehicles make more sense to me than electric cars. Even Toyota believes the same with their 1:9:90 policy, i.e. Manufacturing 1 electric car is equal to manufacturing 9 plug-in hybrid or 90 hybrid cars.
- Most of the battery packs are manufactured by China. Nothing much to explain here, as we Indians who love our nation already know how important that factor plays here.
- Thermal runaways are possible in all electric vehicles.
- Outside temperature affects battery percentage.

[Aakash]

I cannot vote in the poll yet, but I would prefer an ICE over an EV anyway. Reasons being -

I used to work in an Urban Mobility company, which had EV mopeds in their fleet in Mumbai. Over a course of 9 months, I was quick to realize some things.

1) They maybe electric vehicles, but they're charged off of a diesel generator. Unless a 100% sustainability is guaranteed, I'm not in agreement with the "safer for the environment" sentiment.
2) Wear and tear of components, wrt the battery is a constant factor in declining battery range.
3) Range anxiety is real.
4) I feel EV's are, soul-less. Just a personal take.
5) Being a manual head, EV's coupled with the Automatic transmission is just boring. Again, a personal take.
6) I'm too young to be driving an EV, man!
7) The infrastructure, although progressing rapidly, isn't exactly confidence inspiring to keep the driving the EV for a long period of time.
8) Longer charging time if in case EV's run out of juice in the city. Compared to just 5-10 mins of refueling time.
9) I might be the last of my generation to know how to drive a manual car, considering that everyone's shifting to Automatic Transmission in the near future for the convenience it offers. Gotta keep that tradition up until my next generation is completely EV-fied.
10) There's something with ICE cars. The rumble of the engine, the aggressive shift of the gear, some unintentional wheelspin, which is borderline satisfying. Too early and again, too young to give it up. The heart yearns for the adrenaline.

Cheers.