Though electric cars are far less polluting, they pose a challenge to Indian driving practices
What are the characteristic features of e-Cars?
These are Far less polluting and carbon-emitting.
Electric motor is much quieter than the engine and the transmission system has fewer parts too.
After getting started can very quickly ramp up to full speed, unlike the internal combustion engine that needs to idle and takes time to increase speed.
While the cars are in motion all one hears is wind, tyre and road noise, which is minimal in city driving.
Another crucial, efficiency-boosting attribute of the electric car is regenerative braking.
By this the electric motor powering the car can reverse its role, becoming a generator and charging the battery.
The generator load is the resistance that provides braking torque and it can be varied if one want to just bring down the speed, not stop the car altogether.
What are the challenges India would face?
Indian driving is likely to be disrupted by electric vehicles that the Indian government seems keen on introducing, without transitioning to hybrids.
The features of electric cars don’t sync with our present state of driving.
In India,two-wheelers and cars don’t consider lanes importantand they switch lanes frequently taking sharp turns.
Drivers seem to be possessed by a primal urge to get ahead of others even if it means them to jam hard on their brakes.
Jamming on the brakes may make regenerative braking less useful and the energy savings can come down.
What needs to be done?
Vehicles driven by internal combustion engines, with their inherent limitations, are a good fit for Indian drivers.
These vehicles take their own time to speed up and, hence, don’t feed into the manic urges of Indian drivers.
Electric vehicles for India need elaborate transmission systems and, in unison, the engine and the transmission create enough noise to alert others to their presence.
At the same time manufacturers can add a time delay in the software.
Consumer behaviour and adoption will determine the system that electric vehicles in the future will have.
