Are Electric Vehicles a Real and Viable Option?

I had bought myself an electric scooter over 12 years ago. This was at a time when there were severe fuel shortages and fuel pumps bore a derelict look. I still have that electric scooter and use it several times a week. I have replaced the battery four times in this time. There are several reasons I would recommend an electric vehicle, but would point out several shortcomings of EVs as well.

EVs are zero-emission vehicles. Since they are battery-operated, there is no combustion and no pollution. So EVs could be said to be better for the environment. They can also be economical to use since the plugging in and charging the battery is cheaper than using petrol or diesel for the car.

There are no moving parts, so little is required in the way of maintenance, services and so on. Since they are battery-operated, there is very little noise and vibration, which are a surprisingly big part of driving fatigue.

Electric vehicles have come a long way since my humble scooter purchase which had a range of about 40 km on a full charge. Back in the day, all we had were a few excruciatingly slow scooters (only a couple of models could go over 40kmph) and the tiny, cramped-looking Reva. There was little one could use an EV for except a short office commute and running errands and so on.

Now we see many more EVs on the roads: scooters, cars and e-rickshaws as well. We now have cars such as the Mahindra e2oPlus, Mahindra e-Verito, Tata Nexon EV, Tata Tigor EV, MG ZS EV, Hyundai Kona Electric and others. These cars have a range of just over a hundred km range to over 400 km ranges along with fast charging options. Now EVs have gone beyond just the office commute. With longer ranges and big boot spaces, they now let you travel out of town as well.

EVs used to be funny-looking earlier but now are attractive and thoughtfully designed cars. Many governments encourage the use of EVs and may offer tax-relief or other incentives from time to time.