2y ago

Gasoline, diesel vehicles dominate India's auto market, EVs lag

www.reuters.com

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Coming from a third world country (Egypt) these are the major problems with EVs according to my conversations with other locals:
Can't charge at home. Many people live in densely populated buildings where they park their car on the street.
If they would install chargers in front of their buildings, they would cost a shit ton because of the current exchange rate and they would get stolen because of the price and the fact that they're out in public. Situation is so bad here that even CAR EMBLEMS were being stolen.
Repair. There's barely anyone trained on them, and since barely anyone's buying them spare parts are rare.
Longevity. They won't last as long as an ICE because of the battery wear, especially with the heat we get in the summer.
Price. Currently there's only high end electric cars since only the rich have single family homes with garages. There have been "startups" that basically showed off some cheap Chinese electric cars that can only go like 30kmph but that's pretty much it in the cheaper price point
That's pretty much all i can remember.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
MUMBAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - India's road transport minister on Tuesday warned local and foreign automakers to either cut production of polluting diesel vehicles or face higher taxes and levies, setting alarm bells ringing in the world's third-largest car market.
Here are some facts about India's automotive market, the biggest after China and the United States, where players such as Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS), Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) and foreign giants such as Mercedes (MBGn.DE) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) operate.
In India, about four million passenger vehicles were sold in the fiscal year that ended in March, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
In the luxury segment, though, which includes cars and SUVs made by Mercedes, BMW (BMWG.DE) and Audi, petrol variants have accounted for 62% of sales so far this year, down from 68% in 2021, according to JATO Dynamics.
Tuesday's warning from minister Nitin Gadkari targeted diesel carmakers, whose market share has seen a steady decline to nearly 18% of passenger vehicles in January-July this year from 47.9% in 2014.
Vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, or CNG, mostly preferred by cab operators in India, have seen their market share rising to 11.4% in January-July from 9% in 2014.
The original article contains 417 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 51%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
As a consumer why would I buy EVs? They are more expensive, their range is hilariously short (unless you buy super-expensive long-range versions).
The only reason to buy EVs is to cache in government subsidies (if they exist).
- It's a fair question, and also this conversation leaves out the necessity of public transportation which would be a much better way to reduce pollution (which EV fans will often say is why you need an EV).
  
  indeed. Public transportation has other benefits too. I usually open my laptop and work on the train, which I can't do when driving.
- They're more fun to drive.
  Charging at home is more convenient than going to the gas station.
  Electricity is cheaper than gas. Depending on your milage it will eventually break even and be cheaper.
  Even the shortest range is enough for 99% of the trips.
  
  So not from India, but wanted to chime in.
  Whether or not they’re more fun to drive is really subjective. I personally find them really boring to drive as they’re a very sanitized experience. There’s no soul to the car, it’s just push a button and go. That’s fine for a lot of people, but not everyone.
  It also is heavily reliant on having a charger at home. Without one you’re just as dependent on going to “gas stations” and the trips take longer than the equivalent trip to get gas.
  
  I spend less than 5 minutes to get gas. How long does it take to charge?

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