With growing EV adoption across India, it is necessary to address the roadblocks that stop people from switching to an EV. There are many uncertainties and misconceptions about electric vehicles and one emerges as a prominent barrier.
Range anxiety is defined as driver’s fear that their electric car battery will run out of power before they reach their destination or find a suitable charging point. This fear is often cited as the most important reason when it comes to the rejection of electric cars.
Addressing Range Anxiety
Addressing range anxiety is the most crucial step in the quest to increase EV adoption across India. This issue lies in customer trust.
The most commonly cited reason for this mistrust is the lack of public charging infrastructure. Regardless of the travel destination and time, EV drivers need the assurance that they can conveniently find charging points along their route and trust the reliability of those chargers.
Public Charging Infrastructure
In countries that have fully adopted EVs as their preferred mode of transportation, like China and Norway, this anxiety was completely removed with an expansive and rapid charging infrastructure. Norway offers substantial incentives for EV adoption, and have leveraged cheap, renewable electricity to power its grid and charging stations. China, on the other hand, offers battery swapping which is a hassle-free and quick process, so you don’t even have to wait to have your battery charged. Companies also took initiative, like Tesla’s Supercharger network which makes EV adoption far more convenient.
As of now, India has over 29,000 EV charging stations, with each equipped with one or more chargers. So clearly, the problem isn’t the lack of chargers. With the government investing in expanding public charging infrastructure network with the PM E-DRIVE scheme, it can be expected that this number will keep growing in the coming years.
To address charging availability, PM E-DRIVE plans an extensive expansion of fast-charging networks. The scheme has earmarked ₹2,000 crore to enhance charging infrastructure across states, while ₹10,900 crore has been allocated for EV subsidies. By focusing on high-traffic areas and major highways, the initiative seeks to eliminate range anxiety for EV drivers.
Additionally, in the long term, with improving battery technology and robust infrastructure, range anxiety is expected to reduce significantly and give drivers the confidence to switch to this cost-effective alternative.
Extended range, increased energy efficiency, reduced costs, and better charging infrastructure will play a significant role in easing these concerns.
How to Beat Range Anxiety?
Well, we have a formula for this. Here are 4 steps you can follow that will make your life much easier.
- Familiarize yourself with your range: Since the biggest fear is running out of battery on your journey, it is only logical to keep a check on the state-of-charge on daily runs. This will give you a good idea of how your EV will perform on longer runs. So if your car’s claimed range is around 600 km and you can travel around 100 kilometers while using up 20% of your battery energy, your real world range is somewhere around 500 km. This figure lets you actually plan your trips accordingly.
- Use the Regenerative Brakes: Most EV users miss the memo when it comes to regenerative brakes. This is a very unique thing that only comes with battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Essentially, with regen brakes, every time you let go of the accelerator or apply the brakes, the motor starts recharging the battery. Braking or slowing down not just saves you energy but also generates it. There are different levels to this but its an efficient way to extend your range on long drives.
- Plan Your Route: Essentially, when you’re looking at the route on a map, we would recommend also looking at all the available chargers on that route. Don’t worry, we have you covered. You can check here to see the chargers as well as user reviews to see which ones are functional.
- Finally, we recommend ABC. Always Be Charging. When you’re stopping for a quick break, put your car on charge. Even those few minutes of charging can allow you to travel further than you anticipated.
Future Outlook
The future of EV charging in India involves rapid infrastructure expansion, with millions of new charging stations needed by 2030 to support a massive EV market, alongside a shift towards a mix of public, private, and home-based charging solutions.
Key developments include increased government support and incentives, the growth of smart charging technologies and digital payment systems, interoperability between charging networks, and the adoption of both slow AC and fast DC charging solutions for different vehicle types.
