Road blocks for green cars

World over, the electric car segment has created a market for itself. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) which run on fuel engine-battery address fuel hike and decrease the carbon footprint in the world of wheels. In India it’s not a smooth drive, though Mahindra REVA Electric Vehicle Co Ltd, Tata Motors, General Motors, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motor India Ltd have created variants which are zero polluting electric vehicles with a low lifecycle cost. “HEVs have a limited battery life. There’s no infrastructure to support city-roadway charging facilities of electric vehicles and HEVs,” said Anoop Kurup, Director, Innovation Management, Inolyst Consulting Pvt. Ltd, an intellectual property advisory firm.

Technological challenges halt the popularity of these cars. “While lithium ion technology currently costs about $1,000/KWh, nickel metal hydride and lead acid batteries are insufficient to replace the present cars, in terms of power and energy density, weight and range,” said Kurup.  

World over, car lovers make a dent in their pocket whenever they drive a battery-operated car. Electric sports car Tesla Roadster which can go 220 miles on a single charge, and has the power-looks of a gas-powered sports car, will set you back by $150,000. Though a high performance sports electric vehicle, it sells at a premium. The Toyota Prius unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo is Rs 27 lakh and has 15km/litre mileage.

Deterrents

Cost: Reva costs around Rs 4 lakh, urging price sensitive Indian consumers tend to switch gears to a petrol operated car within the same price segment.

Honda Civic Hybrid, considered India’s first hybrid car is a classic example. “As an experiment, Honda launched a few hundred hybrid cars about two years ago, priced around Rs 23 lakh. The Honda Civic was in the price range of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 13 lakh. Since the price gap between the two was approximately Rs 10 lakh, the hybrids had no takers until the company lowered the price to approximately Rs 11 lakh,” explained Prasanto K Roy, Chief Editor of Technology publication, CyberMedia group. The cars sold within a few days.

Charge Stations

There’s no infrastructure to support city and roadway charging and recharging of electric and HEVs. Besides the drive range per charge is low, so in case you are trying to go for a longer drive you will have to rethink your options. HEVs have a long payback period, of up to 11 years compared to three years in normal diesel cars.  

Batteries

Research is being conducted in powering electric vehicles with zinc-air batteries, which have a long shelf life. Copper platinum alloys are being researched upon to lower costs. Power converters which can operate at higher switching frequencies with higher efficiency and run without having to use active cooling systems, help cut costs.

Manufacturer

Unless a manufacturer makes these cars in India on scale, prices will never go down. “The market in India is too small to develop vehicles specifically for its requirement, the closest realistic setting is Japan, which will help reduce costs and increase vehicle acceptance,” explained Kurup.

History of hybrid cars

Hybrid cars rolled off automotive history 100 years ago.  Lohner-Porsche, ranked among the world’s first zero emission vehicles, was showcased at the Paris World Fair in 1900. The HEV market revved up as players accelerated its evolution from conception to street reality. Car aficionados changed tracks as HEVs became difficult to maintain.

Kavita@expressbuzz.com