51% of Indian EV car owners want to go back to ICE cars, says survey

In a survey answered by a pool of 500 electric car owners, 51 per cent of respondents did not want to buy a second EV and would rather switch back to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. The survey was conducted by Park+, a app-based platform for car owners that provides varying services to resolve daily challenges and hosts over 25,000 verified EV car owners. The survey centred around the cities of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore and was conducted in order to “understand the mindset of EV car owners in India," says Amit Lakhotia, Founder & CEO, Park+.

The survey reported that charging anxiety was the biggest cause for concern for 88 per cent of respondents and that it was of higher relevance than range anxiety. The survey stated that most drivers prefer to take short intercity trips within a 50 km radius, and as such, range anxiety was not reported as an anxiety trigger. The survey stated that EV owners felt a lack of visibility when it came to charging stations. While there are more than 20,000 EV charging stations in India, access to a safe and working charging station was the biggest concern for most EV car owners.

High repair costs and dramatically low resale value holds EV sector back

Higher cost of repairs for electric vehicles was reportedly another major cause for concern for EV car owners, says Park+. The survey states, “73 per cent of respondents highlighted the fact that their EV cars were like a black box which they could not decipher." Complexity of the mechanical parts and electrical components in an EV makes repairs a tall order, and to that end, respondents often stated that their local mechanics were unable to operate on minor issues. Furthermore, the survey found that respondents were not able to determine the cost of repairs as multiple repair shops would be unable to give them a second opinion.

Resale value of used ICE cars are determined by their age, mileage, and is additionally impacted by factors such as a specific model’s demand or heritage. Resale value of electric vehicles tend to fall dramatically and 33 per cent of the surveyed respondents listed this factor as another major cause for concern that makes them want to switch back to ICE cars. The battery in an EV constitutes 30 per cent of the car’s total value and this degrades over time. The lack of tests that measure such degradation is a key factor in the fall of resale value and stands to be a major hindrance for buyers and owners.

Watch: India's EV Infrastructure Explained | All Things EV | HT Auto

The survey further found that EV car owners on average were unhappier than ICE car owners and that part of the problem was the industry handling secondhand EVs for the first time. In the press release for the survey, Lakhotia commented that “the Indian 4W EV story is still being written and the need of the hour is to build a robust and smart EV charging infrastructure embedded in our current vehicular ecosystem."

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