2019 The Year of EVs: Easy To Maintain or Not?

Not just SUVs but in 2019 we’ll be treated to the launch of multiple electric cars including the Hyundai Kona and the Audi e-tron. That said, what about the ground realities in terms of maintaining these electric vehicles and how will they fare in the long-term? We answer this and a lot more in this story.

2019 is the year where everyone wants to jump on the Electric Vehicle wagon. June 2019 itself has seen three automakers announce their EV plans for the year. The beauty about the entire electric vehicle space is that it is a clean slate for everyone. In a market as big as India, traditional automakers, as well as new entrants, are eyeing this space for a future market share.

In a country like India, where infrastructure has always been the Achilles heel for any new industry, the Electric Vehicle space is no different. There are concerns for automakers as well as the consumers. For environmental reasons an EV makes probably the best sense, however, the cost of owning one is a concern for the price sensitive Indian buyer car buyer.

The biggest question that one has while buying any vehicle is that of its maintenance cost. Here are a few things that work in favour of owning an EV in the future and a few that do not.

What Works?

Since an electric vehicle does not have an internal combustion engine with a lot of moving parts like the cars that you see on the road right now, there are only a few things that can go wrong. So, EVs should be more reliable that conventional cars of today, theoretically.

An EV is usually powered by lithium-iron-phosphate and lithium-manganese batteries which are inherently safe and provide more years of service. Moreover, car manufacturers like Hyundai and Audi that plan to get their electric cars top and running in India by this year end will give a warranty protection of up to 8-years for their EVs.

Since there is no engine, there are no regular oil changes or tune-ups so there are only a few things that can fail on an Electric vehicle like the Kona or the eTron. These EV’s also use a 1-speed transmission mechanism so the maximum that an owner will need to do is get the gear oil changed on it once a year.

So the part cost that you pay for your vehicle servicing like, spark plugs, valves, fuel tank, muffler/tailpipe, distributor, starter, clutch, drive belts, hoses, and a catalytic converter etc. all go out of the window.

Servicing of an EV would just require, check-ups performed on brakes, suspension, drivetrain and the health of the battery and its charging capabilities. This will not only save cost for vehicle owners but also lower vehicle turnaround time for service providers. The service time for a regular car right now is anywhere between 4-5 hours on an average. When it comes to EVs this time would be drastically reduced to a couple of hours. What can also be a cherry on top is that when you get your EV back from the service, you could get a full charge on the battery, unlike the empty fuel tanks with no refills by the service centres.

What’s Still A Concern?

If you are a responsible driver with your current car and want to own an EV you might not face any hassle in owning one for years. However, not all is good when it comes to ownership of EVs in 2019. Like any technology, Electric Vehicles will cost more. The Government of India does plan on subsidies for these vehicles, however, the cost of buying one will still be more than your conventional gasoline powered car.

Then there is the question of battery replacement. Indian roads are not necessarily the safest places to drive on. A minor accident will leave you waiting for parts on these vehicles as they’ll be sold through the CBU or CKD route for now. Till the time local manufacturing is introduced, there is a certain risk in owning one and waiting for parts to be replaced.

To top it all, an 8-year battery warranty might sound lucrative, but the longevity will also depend on your charging cycles of the battery and your car charging patterns as well. Once this battery runs out of juice or its punch in 6-7 years, the replacement cost in itself will be half the cost of the car. According to our sources, the Audi eTron will cost a little upwards of Rs 1.2 crore ex-showroom in India when its launched. The battery replacement cost on the eTron could be around Rs 45 lakh. That’s the price of a fully loaded Audi A4 and that to on-road.

Lastly, if by any chance you have a break down in the middle of the road, these are not the kind of cars you can work on yourself. There are no push starts on an electric vehicle. Also, your roadside mechanic is also not capable enough to help you resolve or do a jugaad for you to reach the service centre. You will be stranded till the time road-side assistance helps you out of the situation.

So what should one do?

There is no doubt in our mind that EVs are the future and no matter how hard the automakers and the oil companies lobby for gasoline-powered cars, they themselves know that it’s a dead end now. New challenges are there, and over the course of the next couple of years, we will see a lot of teething problems faced by both customers as well as automakers when it comes to the EV ecosystem in India.

Carmakers like Hyundai and Audi will try to take the first mover advantage in their respective space and we have our very own Mahindra and Tata Motors also working on EVs in mass-market segments. However, the last mile problem that they will all face is the lack of infrastructure to support the EV ecosystem and that is something that will need time to be resolved. As for the consumer, if you have a power socket at your parking spot at work and home, owning an EV will be the most cost-effective investment you’ll make in the next 10 years.

Author: Siddhartha Sharma a.k.a @SidnChips is the creator of selfie interviews and is known for his love for technology and automobiles. He’s not a fast driver behind the wheel, but his weekend cricket cover drives are a speciality. In an alternate universe, he’s a cricketer that’s fuelled by his passion for marrying technology with automobiles.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not represent those of The Indian Express Group or any employees.

Source: financialexpress