The Electric Vehicles have been making headlines in the recent past. This post will discuss Electric Vehicle, Why to buy EV, Range, top 5 Electric Cars/Bikes and charging stations for electric vehicles in India.

What is Electric Vehicle

The vehicles which use Electric Engines are called Electric Vehicles. They are run by electric engines powered by batteries, which are rechargeable.

Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India

Fig.1 – Introduction to Electric Vehicle

Most of the population (at present) do not use an Electric Vehicle (EV). However, over the past decade, there has been an increased demand for the purchase of Electric Vehicles. So let us have a look at how efficient the Electric Engine is. The automobile industry is also planning on a big shift to EV’s.

What is Electric Engine

An engine is a machine that converts fuel into mechanical energy. So by definition, An Electric Engine is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.

Electric Vehicle

Fig. 2 – Electric Vehicle (Two-wheeler)

Compelling Reasons to Buy Electric Vehicle (EV)

Below are a few compelling reasons to believe that an electric engine is quite efficient for a two and a four-wheeler:

  • Environment Friendly
  • Energy-efficient
  • Cost- efficient
  • Performance and maintenance

Environment Friendly

The first point that comes to our mind when we speak of electric engines are sustainability. It is believed that the most sustainable form of transportation is Electric vehicles. The key factor that attracts many people to think about electric engines for their two and four-wheeler is that they do not use any fossil fuels to operate.

The fossil fuels produce a lot of carbon emissions and smoke into the environment. This in turn increases air pollution too. By choosing electric engine for vehicles, we can reduce pollution. The health effects due to air pollution is also reduced, as there are no harmful gases let out in air.

The Electric Vehicles do not emit any harmful direct gases. This emission is known as tailpipe emission. These harmful gases are the major reason for global warming and climate change. Electric engine gives us a chance to reduce further harm to the earth. The large batteries used to run these electrical engines can be easily recycled.

The electricity used to run these engines are also generated through renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower. The EV seems to make sense with the demand of fossil fuel going up as the supply seems to exhaust.

Reasons to buy Electric Vehicle

Fig. 3 – Reasons to Buy Electric Vehicle

Energy-Efficient

Energy efficiency relates to the amount of energy consumed from the batteries to achieve the vehicle speed. The energy of an electric engine is estimated at 90%, which is remarkably high. The higher the efficiency, the lower the electricity consumption. Electric vehicles recover its kinetic energy through regenerative braking, which is otherwise lost during braking through heat.

Cost- Efficient

The biggest expense of any two-wheeler or four-wheeler is fuel charges. EV’s turn out to be cost efficient as a lot of money is saved on fuel. The vehicles are charged by the normal household socket you have at home. Thus, a very convenient way to recharge. The electricity rate is comparatively less and more constant, which means expense is economical. The cost per mile for an electric engine is also very less expensive.

Any vehicle needs regular maintenance from time to time, as there are a lot of moving parts which require service or may fail whereas an electric engine vehicle has very few moving parts. This means vehicles with electric engines do not require expensive maintenance over the lifetime of the vehicle.

Earlier, the electric engine vehicles were expensive, but with advancement of technology and maintenance, the cost has come down quite low. The remarkable flexibility of electric generation helps us to reduce cost by installing a rooftop solar panel to generate electricity and charge your vehicle on the go.

Performance and Maintenance

The performance of Electric Vehicle is very high. The acceleration capacity of electric engines is amazing. The electric engines provide smooth operation with reduced noise pollution, as they are much quieter. The vehicles with electric engines are lighter and spacious too due to reduced engine size. There is less vibration in the electric engines.

Also, The electric engine requires very less maintenance, as there are very fewer moving parts in these engines. Thus, eliminates a ton of maintenance tasks. You do not need to visit the service station as often. The vehicles with electric engines have the simplest driving too. They glide easily.

Range of Electric Vehicle

Range is defined as the distance that a user can cover on a fully charged vehicle. Currently, 250 miles of range is offered by the Chevrolet Bolt, Kia Niro EV, and Hyundai Kona Electric cars. With respect to Electric Bikes or Scooters, one can expect the range to be in between 40-100 miles.

However, it depends on various factors like battery size, speed, load on the vehicle, temperature etc. Research has found that temperatures have dramatic effect on driving range as illustrated below.

 

Effects of Temperature

Fig. 4 –  Effects of Temperature on Range

Top 5 Electric Cars

Top five Electric Cars include:

  • Porsche Taycan
  • Tesla Model S Plaid
  • BMW i4
  • BMW iX3
  • Tesla Model X

Racing

Fig. 5 – Buckeye Bullet 3: Fastest Electric Racing Vehicle

Top 5 Electric Two-Wheelers

Top five Electric motorcycles include:

  • Lightning LS-218
  • Energica Ego+
  • Arc Vector
  • Energica Eva EsseEsse9+
  • Verge TS

Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India

Fig. 6 – Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India

Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India

Definitely, Electric Vehicles are the Future. The Government of India and Private Companies are putting their all out effort to install the supporting Infrastructure for Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India in a planned way. Here is a brief for the progress so far:

    1. In India, the Evre and Park+ have jointly announced to install 10,000 EV charging stations in next two years.
    2. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has planned to commission 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations over the next three years.
    3. The installation of nearly 500 new Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in India is already completed as of now under the FAME-II Scheme and are functional.
    4. The Government of India has approved installation of 2,600 EV charging stations in 62 cities of India under FAME II scheme.
    5. NHAI has set a target for charging stations for Electric Vehicles in India every 40-60 km, 40,000 km of highway coverage by year 2023.

Conclusion

Considering the environmental impact, cost-effectiveness, light weight, performance and maintenance, the electric engine seems to be very efficient for a two-wheeler and four-wheeler. Also, the future of Automobile is definitely Electric Vehicles and so It is advisable to move to this sector sooner than later.

Also Read:
Electric Car - Types, Components, How it Works and Advantages
Brake System – Types, How it Works, Advantages and Disadvantages
Self-Driving Vehicle - Architecture, How it Works, Advantage, Disadvantage