Why would you buy an electric vehicle?
Electric vehicles have several advantages over IC engine vehicles, and they are one of the key players in the automotive industry now.
Most of the EV owners love the experience with electric vehicles. But some of the EVs make the owners to go through really tough situations.
Today we are going to see some of the worst experiences with electric vehicles.
The Worst Experiences with the Electric Vehicles
The owners of electric vehicles expect better performance, economical rides, maintenance free operation, and more from electric vehicles. Even though the owners get what they expect from the vehicle they face some worst experiences from the EVs.
#1 Lack of charging stations
This is one of the main problems that most of the vehicle owners face while driving or planning to drive their vehicles for a long distance. I faced this issue many times and could not plan long journey on my electric scooter since the chargers were not available.
Sometimes the chargers are available (the mobile application shows the same) but I was not sure if it would be free when I reached the point. The main reason is the limited number of chargers at a charging station.
#2 Longer Charging Time
One day I forgot to charge my electric scooter overnight and, in the morning, I realized that I could not go to office on the scooter!
Even though I plugged the vehicle into the charger, it would take at least 2 to 3 hours to get charged.
If it was an IC engine vehicle it could have been refueled in a few minutes.
#3 Poor service facility
Most electric vehicle companies provide good service facility and easily accessible service centers. But some vehicles fail in the customer relations.
The main issues are
- The service centers are not always accessible through phone or WhatsApp
- We get a schedule for periodic maintenance and accidental maintenance after very long (More than 20 days)
- They took really long to return the vehicle once it is taken for periodic maintenance.
Ather has a good service facility, and we are happy with it. The only problem is that the heavy booking causes the delayed service schedule offering from the center.
#4 Fire hazards
We hear about electric vehicle fire hazards regularly. The ministry put some regulations for the performance and testing of the battery and the manufacturers would be following them?
But the news about fire hazards confuses the potential customers.
In my personal opinion if we go for a good quality vehicle and follow their instructions then the fire hazard would not occur.
#5 Battery failure
The low-quality batteries of electric vehicles show a faster degradation and cause the owners to spend money to replace them. If the vehicle uses lead acid battery, then it will never last long!
Read this article: My electric scooter experience
The best vehicles provide you more than 5 years of battery warranty and that is a good sign.
#6 Expensive for Middle Class Families
Electric vehicles are still costlier than IC engine vehicles. I would like to compare the initial cost. But once you drive the vehicle for a few years then the overall expense on the vehicle will be less for electric vehicles.
I have performed a calculation to prove this point on this blog post: ATHER 450X Gen 3 review after 4000km
The problem is that if you are using the vehicle to travel a minimal distance then the cost parity will not happen for a very long period.
#7 Uncertain resale value
We know how much an approximate resale value for an IC engine vehicle would be. But it is uncertain for an electric vehicle.
The main reason is that the health of battery cannot be asserted for an EV.
It takes a few more years to get a stable and firm answer for this question.
#8 Lack of standardization
You can fill fuel from any gas station across the country.
But you can’t charge your electric vehicle from all the public charging stations. The charging is not yet standardized. There are some standard charging ports but there is more than one type of charger.
To overcome this issue there are adaptors to make your EV charge from incompatible chargers. But that’s not the proper method to charge.
The battery is also not standardized completely. Different vehicles have different types of battery and voltage levels. So, the replacement is also not common for all EVs.
#9 Instability in Policies
Many companies already have declared their plans for electric vehicles. Many models have been introducing to the market regularly.
But the EV policies have not been finalized yet by the authorities. It will also take a while to do a trial and error for some of the introduced and planned policies.
For example, the battery swapping in one of the major focuses in last year’s budget of the government of India.
The progress of the Battery As A Service (BaaS) is yet to be determined.
Along with the charging stations the hydrogen fuel vehicles are also being promoted by the authorities. The EV owners are a bit confused about the actual focus of the industry.
#10 Power Electronics failure
If your electric vehicle brake down, then you may have to contact the service center to get the vehicle ready again. A common mechanic cannot repair the electronics systems such as power converters in the vehicle.
You will not have any clue when power electronics components fail. But in the case of IC engine vehicles, you will know from the noise and vibrations the possibility of mechanical failures.
Anyway, the chance for the breakdown is less in EV since the mechanical components are very less!
#11 Climate dependent range
During winter you may have to switch on the heater in the vehicle. This significantly reduces the range of the vehicle. As a result of the power consumption of the heater, the EV’s range could reduce around 20-40% in winter season.
If you plan the same trip on winter and summer, then the distance that could be traveled will be different.
Conclusion
As an EV owner, the possible worst experiences that you may come across are listed in this article. Evern though these are some drawbacks there are a lot of advantages to an electric vehicle. If you ask an EV owner, then you may know that they love the vehicle.
They are
- really nice to drive since less vibration.
- having the best performance, acceleration, etc.
- less expensive to run and maintain.
- zero emission vehicles
- etc.
What are your thoughts?