Who should buy an EV?

We are heading towards 2025, and in the past few years, EVs have made a lot of buzz. But there is always a question in everyone’s head: Should I buy an EV? Is it appropriate for me? Don’t worry; I will answer this question Who should buy an EV? for you in this article with examples.

First, let’s understand the current market for EVs. In just the past 12 months, electric 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler sales amounted to 1.3 million units, and 1.26 lakh units just last month, November 2024. You can see a rise in EV sales, but out of these 1.3 million, only 1 lakh are Electric 4-wheeler, and the rest are two-wheelers. This shows that an electric 2-wheeler makes more sense. Let me explain this in detail.

Electric 2-wheeler

If you live in a city and your daily commute is around 20-40 km, and you have a charging facility at home, a 3.6/7.2kWh charger, then you are the person who should buy an EV or electric 2-wheeler, But wait, getting these three aspects right is not an ideal situation. You might live in a Big city, but having a home charger is not normal for you in an apartment. You might have to rely on external charging infra, which is not feasible and is more expensive than a home charger. Your travel commute distance can be much more than 20-40 km. you might travel 50-80 km, then, 2-wheeler EVs might not be ideal for you.

An Average 2-wheeler EV has a range of 100-150 km, this is in an ideal situation, you can expect around 100 km, if you travel more than 50-60 km in a day, you have to charge your electric 2-wheeler daily, and if you dont have a home charger, this is not an ideal scenario.

According to the study, an average 2-wheeler is driven for 33 km, meaning you can travel for around 3 days on a full charge, and if you can install a home charger then you are the right person to buy an electric 2-wheeler. Even if you live in an apartment, you can get a charger installed so that everyone can use it, as electric 2-wheeler batteries are small, the charging time would not be high, a 3.6 KWh would charge and an electric 2-wheeler in an hour or so, as the battery size is around 1.5-3 kWh.

Now let’s see why an electric 2-wheeler makes more sense. As of 2024, there were 260 million two-wheelers in India and around 50 million cars, so there are a lot more two-wheelers than cars. Two-wheelers are mostly used to commute in the city for short distances, and in that scenario, Normal petrol two-wheelers pollute a lot, but an electric two-wheeler is perfect. The traffic congestion caused by two-wheelers and four-wheelers makes our air dirty. So replacing 2-wheelers with electric ones makes more sense, as they are driven for short distances, and range anxiety is not a big thing in the case of electric 2-wheelers. That is why electric 2-wheelers make a lot more sense than electric cars.

Now let’s talk about electric cars

Electric 4-wheeler

If you live in a city and commute around 80-100 km, and you have a charging facility at home a 3.6/7.2 kWh charger, then you can buy an EV or electric car. An average electric car in India ranges around 300 km, which is good enough if you commute around 80-100 km daily. You have plenty of range for 2-3 days, and in city driving you are regenerating some energy back in the battery. But if you dont have a home charger, it is not feasible like an electric 2-wheeler. Charging in public infrastructure is expensive and you do have to plan it out, and electric car batteries are noticeably bigger, around 20-30 kWh, so it would take more time than an electric 2-wheeler.

Now if you drive a car, you might take it on a road trip, probably 300-400 km. Here comes the question of range anxiety. The electric car’s range drops when you drive it on a highway at a constant speed, and if you run your Climate control, ventilated seats and so on, which are most likely to be used on a road trip the range drops further. Also, the charging infrastructure comes into question, yes there are 12146 charging stations in India, but it is not available in remote locations, so you have to plan your trip accordingly.

Also, if you locate a charger, you need an app to charge your vehicle, and there could be a possibility that the charger is not operational, you might also face network issues and if you are not able to connect then you can’t charge. I agree I am talking about small possibilities, but these are very likely scenarios you can get stuck. So in short charging infra needs to be improved overall.

Electric cars make more sense if you have a home charger and you drive in the city the most. So cars like Tata Tiago, Citroen eC3 and MG Comet make sense, but these small EVs do not have a 300 km range, they are more likely to have 150-200 km of Range. Smaller EVs are easy to drive in the city and according to a study people tend to drive around 35 km daily so these small EVs fit perfectly. The only thing that could be a hurdle is if you dont have a home charger. In this case, one charger in an apartment would not be enough, as Electric cars have larger batteries and take more time to charge.

Larger electric cars like Tata Nexon EV, Tata Curvv EV, and BYD Atto 3 are good, they have a 300-400 km range, so you can take them on road trips. But charging infrastructure is still questionable and you need to plan, as mentioned before. So having smaller EVs with 200-250 km of range at more affordable prices makes sense. As they can reduce the pollution in the city caused by traffic jams. Manufacturing a smaller EV has less impact on the environment and it is much easier to drive and park in the city.

Charging Cost

Electric 2-wheeler

We are using Bajaj Chetak Blue 3202 as an example, we are calculating, home AC chargers, public AC chargers and public DC charger

Electric 4-wheeler

We are using Tata Nexon EV as an example, we are calculating, home AC chargers, public AC chargers and public DC charger

Conclusion

Now you will think about whether an electric 2-wheeler or an electric 4-wheeler is better. It depends on you, if you live in a City with a lot of traffic and a lack of parking infrastructure, then a 2-wheeler makes more sense. You can drive a 2-wheeler much more easily and it will not require much space to park either. But having a 4-wheeler gives you additional comfort and safety. So in the current scenario, where the electric vehicle technology and battery technology are changing, I would not suggest buying an EV right now, wait for 2-3 years, and you will have a better battery tech, which will be more stable and the range would be better.

But if you want to buy an EV, go ahead and buy one, if you are considering a 2-wheeler it can be your only option, but when it comes to electric cars, I would suggest it as a second car, it would be better if you have Petrol/diesel car as well, and you use your EVs for city commutes.

So hope this article answers your question Who should buy an EV? If you have any questions you can leave them in the comments.

About Post Author

Girish

Hello Guys I am a website developer by profession but is always keen on learning new things. I have been investing in Mutual funds, stock market for the past few years because of which I have gained good knowledge. I started my entrepreneur journey in 2019 which lead me to learn more things as I am moving forward. I always love to share whatever I learn. Always had a craze for cars from my childhood, which inspired me to start this website.

margamgirish@gmail.com

https://thereviewstories.com

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