HYDERABAD: In the last two years, I have seen a rapid increase in the number of green number plates/EVs on the roads in Hyderabad. From affordable to high-end luxury, almost every automobile brand has launched or is in the process of launching them.
In fact, in 2023 the Hyderabad ePrix was held as a part of the Formula E World Championship (it is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single seater cars). It was the first and only one in India so far. While there are so many myths and facts surrounding the future of electric vehicles in our country, the fact that they’re becoming more and more common makes me think that there is definitely more to it.
While my knowledge on the subject is limited, there are some very simple and obvious advantages of owning an EV — it is sustainable for the environment, significantly more economical (electric cars run at approximately `1-1.5/per km as opposed to petrol cars that run at `15-25/per km) and also the servicing of these vehicles is absolutely minimal consisting of just dusting off the filters.
So what’s the catch? Well, unfortunately to battle India’s pollution and ever changing climate issues, the government has very well capitalised on this transition. The state wise introduction of road tax ranging between 17-22% makes these vehicles a lot more expensive and highly demotivating for the buyers.
I also spoke to some friends who have invested in EVs and while this purchase has been very exciting and enthralling for these motorheads, the challenge arises whether the government is fully supporting this transition. With very few public charging stations and an unstable infrastructure, they can’t help but question if we as a state or even a country for that matter are fully ready to adapt to this so-called “future of transportation”.
Should the government have waited a few years to vastly improve the infrastructure, let millions of families adapt to electric vehicles and then introduce tax for the second vehicle? That seems to be a popular view among many people. Currently, Telangana has 195 charging stations (government and private). Nationally, Maharashtra has the highest number of EV charging stations in the country with more than 3,000 charging stations, followed by Delhi (1,886) and Karnataka (1,041).
This brings me back to the first statement I made. Is the growth really as rapid as we think? Is it because we see a lot more EVs on the road? Or are these challenges leading to skepticism amongst prospective buyers and hindering the sales.
With global automobile brands like Tesla & BYD being sanctioned to set up factories in India, I definitely think the future of electric vehicles in India is promising. Ultimately, it is in the hands of the lawmakers to ensure this transition is smooth and effective.
(The writer’s views are her own)