A lot of people are suffering from air pollution these days, especially in India. Our country is now home to a number of the world’s most polluted cities. It is not something which all of us would prefer so, as responsible citizens, we are ready to take any possible action which results in cleaning our air. According to a recent survey reported by Business Standard, 87% of Indian vehicle owners would prefer to switch to Electric vehicles, if they reduce pollution. According to these people, they are happy, driving either a petrol or an electric vehicle, but would choose electric, if it reduces pollution. On the other hand, there are 12% of people who don’t actually like how Petrol and Diesel cars function, so they’d switch over to Electric vehicle for a technological upgrade.
This huge number of 87% of Indians, is expected to contain a sizeable audience of motorcyclists. So let’s talk from a rider’s standpoint and understand what would stop you from buying an electric motorcycle.
1: Lack of option
The most clear-cut problem is the lack of option. Even if we wanted to buy a suitable electric vehicle for us, despite its cost, there isn’t one available in the market. We have the upcoming Emflux ONE, which would be a supersport and UM’s Thor, which is a cruiser. But still, in the end, they remain as one bike per company, which is electric.
2: Range
It is a curse which haunts the Electric vehicles universally, although manufacturers like Tesla, have found a solution to it. We are still yet to see someone from the motorcycle Industry to do the same. It is not that we don’t put big batteries in an electric bike, we do, but the intended purpose of the bike is always focused around “performance” and not “mileage” or “range”. That’s why we need an electric bike which is equivalent to the modern day 200 to 300 cc bikes, meaning it provides, with its big battery, a decent performance, but a great range.
3: Lack of infrastructure:
The only reason someone is able to ride around a 1200 cc Harley Sportster with a 12-litre fuel tank in India, is because of a good number of petrol pumps. Infrastructure helps an industry as a whole, as a result, even if a bike doesn’t have a lot of range, it can still be used extensively because of a healthy number of charging stations.
4: Pricing
As of right now, BS4 motorcycles are more fuel efficient, reliable and cheaper than ever. On the other hand, electric vehicles are at their infant stage. Still, they’re quite expensive and don’t offer much when it comes to “value for money”. Still, companies like Ather and Emflux Motors, have tried to make their fair share of disruption in the market. While Ather offered a relatively cheap scooter and a charging infrastructure to support, the Emflux motors are offering top of the line specs in their supersport.
These are some of the points which I’d love to see rectified before I buy an electric vehicle. What do you guys think? Would you like to add something to this list? Let us know in the comments below and as always, Thank you for reading.
By: Yetnesh Dubey