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PluginIndia Electric Vehicles

What is your experience using an electric vehicle in India?

28/3/2018

7 Comments

 
By Kamlesh Mallick
Many people are very curious about EV's and ask us this question.  Of course there are petrol heads and EV cynics who don't care.
But, hey they don't know what they are missing!

​For others, i will summarise my experiences below.
I have been using an electric car for more than 4 and half years. And it has been the best decision i have ever taken. 
  • I have visited the service station around 5 times and spent a total sum of Rs 0 on maintenance for the first 3 years.
  • The only spare parts i purchased after 4 years, was a portable charger costing me Rs 5,200.
  • The Annual service is just tightening stuff and running through a checklist. Thus the service hardly costs money to the EV owner. And unlike servicing of petrol or diesel cars, you don’t get a hefty bill every 6 months.
  • The electric motor is super efficient in cities - start and stop traffic as well as on highways. You are left wondering as you drive for around 10-15 km and then see the energy consumed is just worth 8-9 km. The sheer frugality of energy consumption just blows your mind. No oil based vehicle can show such efficiencies.  An electric vehicle takes less and gives more. Now that is the future, available right now!
  • 10 units of electricity to go 120 km. This is my 'fuel' cost. If you own an electric scooter - 1 unit of electricity gets you to go 70 km! Incredible efficiency of the electric motor is for all to see. An electric takes so less and gives so much more. This is truly next generation! Forget visits to smelly petrol pumps. Charge the car overnight and rock your city!
    • For 50,000 km of EV driving, i will spend close to Rs 30,000 on electricity. If i would have purchased a petrol or diesel car, i would have to spend more than Rs 3,00,000 just on fuel.
  • Most electric vehicles are super tech savvy with mobile apps and connectivity of cloud for remote diagnosing, monitoring efficiency graphs and remote observation a given. Making using electrics so much more of an intimate personal experience.
    • Although i have been disappointed with Mahindra for seriously lacking in this area.
    • I'm looking forward to Uniti, Ather and Tesla. These companies will launch seriously intelligent EV's in India.
  • Magic of Regenerative Braking. Most electrics have this magic feature when braking or taking your foot off the accelerator sends electrons streaming back into the battery pack. Simple physics of converting kinetic energy to electric energy. The magic of seeing the State of Charge going upwards while going down a hill or seeing that you have covered 140 km in a car that is stated to go 100 km - is truly satisfying! Below is our video that illustrates regen in an electric!
Our legendary 2013 electric car video that started it all!
​
  • Who says e-vehicles are meant only for cities. We started a movement called installation of community charge points. Back in 2015, the government did not create charge points, the EV Industry did not care! The EV community with PluginIndia.com pioneered the concept of community charging! 100+ community charge points all over India.
    ​We also have a mobile app! I have taken my EV outside my city upto a radius of 300+ kms. More information on the app here
    Community Charging Stations
  • An electric motor is so much more fun to use compared to using an Internal Combustion Engine. The quick acceleration , the lack of clutch, makes things super zippy and fun to ride.
  • You are a part of a community - people who think different. The kind of people i have met has inspired me do so much more. Hats off to all the pioneers, who chose EV’s when the world laughed at them.

EV's are more than vehicles
​I always talk to people and tell them about the social implications like about EV's - there is no war for electricity, there is no pollution, you are not sending money out of your country then they realize that this is a life changing vehicle.

With all the troubles we have in the world - How the banks and large corporations (OIL) are hoarding money. 
All of us give them the money.
Electric vehicle owners stop giving them the money. The electric vehicle owner pays a little bit to the utilities and spends the money on things they want to buy and thus vitalising our local economy.
Instead of sending 150 Billion $ on imported oil each year we keep the money here and keep our wealth in India.
​
Our cities are becoming gas chambers because of the pollution caused by petrol and diesel cars. EVs run on batteries and emit 0 emissions. People who say that EVs are coal-fired vehicles need to do some reading. Analyses by various scientific organisations have shown that electric vehicles, even those powered by electricity generated by coal-powered plants, are much more efficient than oil-based vehicles and, as a result, release fewer CO2 emissions. Do read our article, where we do real calculations and show with numbers how EV's are environmentally friendly compared to ICE vehicles. 

So an electric vehicle is so much more than a vehicle. Its a change for the better.
Go ahead and get one. It can be an electric cycle, or an electric scooter or a car.
Own an electric and show the world that visiting petrol pumps is a disgusting habit that the corporates want you to do.
​Liberate yourself with an EV!
7 Comments
Lithium Battery India link
30/3/2018 04:07:17 pm

Indeed EVs are less headache than petrol/diesel vehicles. Less Maintenance, low running cost. I am considering buying EV myself. But waiting for better technology.

Reply
KAUSHIK KALAGA
12/5/2018 01:03:01 am

Can you tell me how do you charge your car? You mentioned about a portable charger. Where do you find it and how does it work? Thanks!

Reply
Kamlesh
12/5/2018 07:28:20 pm

Thanks for commenting.
A portable box is provided to plug in to any 15 Amp 240 V socket.
Technically, this box is not a charger. It just checks for earthing and sends current to the onboard charger inside the car. This actually does the charging.

You can see photo of this portable charger being used to plug in here
http://www.pluginindia.com/blogs/apartments-and-electric-vehicle-charging

Reply
Kamlesh
12/5/2018 07:28:52 pm

And oh yes, every EV manufacturer supplies this portable box.

Reply
Sumanth
12/7/2018 10:26:14 am

Please let me know which electric scooter are you using right now? I'm looking forward to buy that

Reply
PluginIndia
12/7/2018 01:56:15 pm

Our team member - Kedar Soman - rides an Okinawa Ridge 30 and loves his e-Scooter.
Our other team members use electric cars

Reply
Shivam Rao link
13/10/2022 11:39:17 am

The car is lightweight and easy to maneuver around the city. It can also fit into small parking spaces easily.

Reply

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