In Mumbai, several e-car owners have opted for charging stations in society parking lots as the process to get a new charging point has been streamlined by the power utility and fire department.“>
There has been a 15% rise in electric vehicle (EV) population in Mumbai in the past eight months — from 35,379 to 40,958. The total number of e-car registrations in the city has crossed the 12,000-mark, while the e-bike population is double at more than 24,000, showed statistics provided by the state transport department this week.
Across Maharashtra, the total EV population is now close to 5.5 lakh.
One of the factors influencing buyers for EV adoption is the improvement in range of some of the latest electric cars. “New variants of e-cars in the market have better mileage and remove range anxiety for a long journey,” said a transport expert.
Some of the new variants have a range (mileage) of over 450km for a single charge. One can cover Mumbai to Pune and back on a single charge, the expert explained.
In Mumbai, several e-car owners have opted for charging stations in society parking lots as the process to get a new charging point has been streamlined by the power utility and fire department.
Mumbaikars, however, demanded enhanced infrastructure, such as setting up charging facilities at every petrol station and along arterial roads and highways. This will encourage more buyers.
“One of the USPs for purchasing an electric car was that the running and maintenance costs were very low,” said Hetal Gada, who lives in the eastern suburbs. It is as low as INR 1.5/km as compared to up to INR 10/km in petrol-run cars.
Besides, for those going on long drives, e-SUVs can also touch up to 120kmph on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg and give you a smooth, noiseless drive, said another car owner.
Transport expert Vivek Pai said: “There are many people who are environmentally conscious and can afford to buy an e-car. But they know that these e-cars do not use electricity through renewable energy, which is why they are reluctant to invest in one. Govt should establish a minimum of 50 charging stations in Mumbai that are powered by solar energy. You will witness a transformation — there will be at least 5 lakh people transitioning to EVs as the entire system will become genuinely eco-friendly.”
In the present financial year, the city witnessed registrations of over 5,000 EVs, with the maximum registrations of 1,628 in the western suburbs between Bandra and Andheri followed by 1,538 registrations in the island city.
The maximum number of e-cars registered in the past eight months was in the island city at 652, followed by Andheri RTO at 568. For electric two-wheelers, whose adoption has been faster due to ease of charging and availability of several models of e-scooters, the maximum registrations in Mumbai were at Andheri RTO (729) and Borivli RTO (727), the statistics showed.
There was also more preference for e-two wheelers than e-cars in Mumbai due to the “convenience of charging a battery”.
“A two-wheeler battery can be taken out and charged and swapped as well. Also, two-wheelers run mostly within the city and with a good range, there is no need to charge en route,” said Sanjay Sawant, an e-bike owner.
An Andheri resident, who has switched from a petrol-run car to an electric one, said e-cars are noiseless, have good pick-up, and are easy and comfortable to drive. “Unlike petrol, which is wasted in traffic snarls, my car battery stops automatically when the vehicle is stationary and is not drained,” he added.
Maharashtra has specific targets for electrification of fleets such as last-mile delivery vehicles, aggregator cabs, and govt vehicles. It also mandated the creation of charging infrastructure in new residential buildings, offices, parking lots, malls, among other places.
In Mumbai, the BEST has plans for 100% electrification of its fleet with a roadmap to bring in 10,000 e-buses in the next 2-3 years.
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