Prasad Nair
Mumabi, April 26
Electric vehicles (EVs) are seen as a replacement for the conventional vehicles that run on petrol and diesel. Of late EVs are gaining popularity among masses as oil and petrol prices are sky rocketing. With technological advancements EVs will become the numero uno choice gradually.
Well, is switching from gasoline powered vehicles to ones powered with electricity a right choice? Many still have their doubts, especially since the early versions of EVs had several limitations. As with any purchase that you make, there are advantages and disadvantages, and EVs are no different in this. There are a few things to consider before making the switch over.
In terms of advantages the primary ones is that they are eco-friendly, there is no emission of gases and in terms of costs again one big advantage is that in EV you are saving fuel as against burning the fuel in a petrol or diesel powered vehicle. Electricity is still less expensive than petrol and diesel, you save money. The maintenance cost is lesser as you don’t have to do any oil changes, the brakes of an electric engine lasts longer, etc., and noise pollution is less as electric vehicles are silent.
The primary disadvantages of EVs come from the limitation in charging as the country still doesn’t have a proper charging infrastructure whereas diesel and petrol stations are abundant. Hence, EVs cannot be used for long drives. The charging is time consuming as a full charge may take upto four hours, which is quite a lot. The battery costs are also very high and this should be addressed to make EVs a popular choice among masses.
The good sign is that the market today has far more EVs than it was a decade ago with leading automobile manufacturers bringing out EV versions. However, buyers need to do their research on their requirements and feasibility on the different models of vehicles available in the market before taking the decision.
