Mr. Bean really knows about cars. So when Rowan Atkinson, who's a student of electronics engineering and loves cars (he even appeared on Top Gear once), wrote an article in The Guardian called 'I love electric vehicles — and was an early adopter but increasingly feel duped', it started a big argument between people who love traditional cars and those who support electric cars.
Atkinson said electric cars don't emit any exhaust, but if you look at the bigger picture, including how they're made, it's not as clean as it seems. He criticized Europe's push for electric cars, calling it more like a collaboration between the government, car companies, and mining companies, rather than true capitalism.
Atkinson basically pointed out the problem with blindly following Norway's success with electric cars. This is important for countries like India, where the government is planning to move towards zero-emission vehicles.
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Right now, the Indian government gives tax breaks mainly to one type of car, while most other types are taxed heavily. India's plan for electric vehicles focuses mainly on battery electric cars replacing traditional ones, and they mostly use lithium-ion batteries, which are seen as the best option for now. The cars that get the tax break are the ones Atkinson was talking about, called battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Problems with the BEV push
Subsidies given directly to electric vehicle (EV) buyers, like those in Norway, the US, and China, have been effective in boosting EV adoption. In Norway, the government offers various incentives such as tax waivers, allowing EVs in bus lanes, toll exemptions, and free charging at parking lots.
However, in countries like India, this kind of subsidy mainly benefits the middle or upper-middle class, who are the primary buyers of EVs. This raises concerns about fairness and accessibility, especially for developing nations.
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Charging Network
A study by the World Bank found that investing in charging stations for electric cars is 4-7 times better for getting people to use electric cars than giving them money to buy the cars. Norway and China have more electric cars because they have lots of charging stations and give people money to buy electric cars. China has most of the charging stations in the world.
In India, there are over 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) now, and by 2030, there might be 45-50 million. But there are only about 2,000 places to charge them in public.
In India, most EVs are bikes and three-wheelers, which need different kinds of chargers than cars. Buses need really fast chargers because they have big batteries. Some EVs can be charged with normal plugs, while others need special ones.
Many electric bikes and three-wheelers in India can only be charged slowly, but some can switch batteries quickly when they need to charge fast.
Electricity Source
Some countries use renewable energy, like water power, to make electricity for electric cars. But in India, they mostly use coal power, which pollutes more. So, even though electric cars might not have smoke from their tailpipes, the power plants still cause pollution. But using electric cars can still be better because it reduces the need for oil from other countries.
Value Chain
India wants to use more lithium for electric cars. But getting enough lithium is hard because most of it comes from only a few countries. India needs to import it from places like Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Australia, and China. This makes India rely too much on these countries.
India's demand for lithium is expected to grow a lot by 2030, reaching over 50,000 tonnes just for making electric car batteries. Although India is looking into other options besides lithium batteries, using them is still the best choice for now.
China is leading the world in making electric cars. They have strong companies like CATL, BYD, Nio, Li Auto, and XPENG Motors. They control most of the process of making batteries, from getting the materials to building the cars.
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Picking winners
Some people think it's not a good idea for the government to favor certain types of technology over others. They say that while lithium-ion batteries have been very successful for small electric vehicles like scooters and three-wheelers in India, they haven't been as successful for bigger vehicles like cars, even though there's potential. It's important to know that electric vehicles aren't just battery-powered cars; they also include hybrids and other types.
Although everyone agrees that electric vehicles are the future, it's not clear how we'll get there. Many countries are encouraging electric vehicles through rules and tax breaks, but just offering money might not be enough to make people buy them.
For example, in the US, some states give a lot of money to people who buy electric vehicles, but not many people in West Virginia are buying them, while in California, even though they offer less money, more people are buying electric cars because the government has made it easier with better charging stations and other benefits.
In India, the main goals are to reduce pollution and the cost of importing fuel. The government says they're supporting electric vehicles by giving tax breaks, especially for battery-powered cars. But car companies say it might be better if the government focused on reducing emissions no matter what kind of technology is used.
New technologies
There are many different types of technology to choose from.
Hybrids
Hybrid cars are seen as a good step before all-electric cars. Hybrids use both fuel and electricity, which makes them use less fuel. They don't need special charging stations like all-electric cars do. Manufacturers say making hybrids helps in building the technology needed for electric cars. But, hybrids also use lithium-ion batteries, which can be a problem. Even though hybrids charge themselves, they might not be as fuel-efficient if you use the air conditioner a lot, especially in hot places like India.
Ethanol & Flex Fuel
A flex fuel vehicle can use different kinds of fuel, like petrol and ethanol. A pilot project across the country is trying out this technology to see if it can work well in other places like Brazil, Canada, and the US.
FCEVs & Hydrogen ICE
Some cars use hydrogen to move without making dirty air. But, it's hard for these cars to become popular because there aren't enough places to fill them up with hydrogen. Also, people worry about safety because hydrogen is kept under pressure and at very cold temperatures.
Another type of car uses hydrogen-like regular cars use gasoline, but they're not as clean. They've changed a bit to use hydrogen instead of gasoline, but they still cause pollution.
Synthetic Fuels
Porsche is making a special kind of fuel that they say can make regular cars as clean as electric cars. They call it eFuels. These fuels are made from carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and they're made using renewable energy. They're testing how to make this fuel in Chile.
The goal is to use this fuel in all cars that run on petrol, which would make them almost as good for the environment as electric cars. This could help regular cars keep running without causing much pollution. Interestingly, Formula One plans to start using this synthetic fuel from the year 2026.
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Types Of EV
HEVs
Regular hybrid cars like some types of Toyota Hyryder Hybrid or Honda City e: HEV in India have both a normal engine and an electric motor. This setup makes the car use less fuel. The battery in these cars gets charged up when the regular engine is running and powering the car.
PHEVs
Plug-in hybrid cars, like the Chevrolet Volt, use both a regular engine (ICE) and electric power to move. They have rechargeable batteries that you can plug into a power source to charge up.
BEVs
Cars like the Tata Nexon in India, or the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, don't have engines or fuel tanks. Instead, they use rechargeable batteries to power an electric motor, so they don't need gasoline or diesel to run.
FCVs
Fuel cell vehicles, like Toyota's Mirai and Honda's Clarity, use hydrogen to make electricity for a motor. They mix hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, which makes the motor work, and the only leftover is water. Because they use electricity entirely, fuel cell vehicles are seen as electric vehicles (EVs). However, unlike battery electric vehicles (BEVs), they can go as far and refuel as easily as regular cars and trucks.BYD Seal review 2024
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