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Viability of xEVs in India: A Public Opinion Survey

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ISGW 2017: Compendium of Technical Papers

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering ((LNEE,volume 487))

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) are an important aspect of the ongoing bid for the cleaner mode of transportation as the critical issues like climate change, energy security, and declining energy reserves direly need attention. Like any new technology, their acceptance into society has been a dull affair. Society has a tendency to show reluctance in accepting a new form of technology that is yet to be matured. As Government of India, under FAME mission, plans to roll out about 6–7 million electric/hybrid vehicles by the year 2020, a positive consumer mindset in accepting EVs is crucial for their success. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted and response of people from various domains, viz. service, R & D, industry, academia was recorded. Based on their responses, this paper provides valuable insights into consumers’ attitude toward attractive features of EVs, acceptable range, disadvantages, key roadblocks in reception and consumers’ willingness to pay extra compared to conventional vehicles.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by Centre of Advanced Research in Electrified Transportation (CARET), Aligarh, India. We wish to acknowledge organizers and participants of EV Boot Camp 2016, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, for permitting and participating in this study. We are grateful to delegates at India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) week 2016 for providing their valuable feedback. We are also thankful to delegates at SIAT 2017 held in Pune, India, for sharing their keen insights.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Advanced Research in Electrified Transportation, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

    Mohammad Asaad, Prashant Shrivastava, Mohammad Saad Alam & Yasser Rafat

  2. India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), New Delhi, India

    Reji Kumar Pillai

Authors
  1. Mohammad Asaad
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  2. Prashant Shrivastava
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  3. Mohammad Saad Alam
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  4. Yasser Rafat
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  5. Reji Kumar Pillai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Saad Alam .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Reji Kumar Pillai

  2. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Berkeley, California, USA

    Girish Ghatikar

  3. Biosirus, Markham, Ontario, Canada

    Ravi Seethapathy

  4. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    Vijay L Sonavane

  5. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    S A Khaparde

  6. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Pradeep Kumar Yemula

  7. Working Group 7, India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Samir Chaudhuri

  8. General Electric (United States), Aspen, Colorado, USA

    Anant Venkateswaran

Appendix

Appendix

Survey questionnaire-

Name: Gender:

Designation:

Email:

Residential State:

  • 1. Type, brand, and model of your current vehicle:

  • 2. What is your general opinion on the future of all types of electric vehicles (xEVs) in Indian scenario?

    1. (a)

      They will completely replace gasoline-powered cars in the following years

    2. (b)

      They will be a part of the transportation system but will never take the throne from the gasoline-powered vehicles

    3. (c)

      They will always be limited to research and will remain beyond the reach of masses.

  • 3. Assuming xEVs reduce the cost per 100 km of driving (initial car price and maintenance cost neglected), how much reduction would be enough for you to switch to an xEV in India?

    1. (a)

      up to 10%

    2. (b)

      up to 25%

    3. (c)

      up to 50%

    4. (d)

      up to 100%

  • 4. How much more would you be willing to pay for a new xEV instead of a new gasoline-powered vehicle?

    1. (a)

      up to 10%

    2. (b)

      up to 25%

    3. (c)

      up to 50%

    4. (d)

      up to 100%

  • 5. What according to you is the main reason for people not buying an xEV in India?

    1. (a)

      Not interested in a new car at all

    2. (b)

      Expensive when paralleled to conventional internal combustion cars

    3. (c)

      Lack of charging infrastructure

    4. (d)

      Lower range with fully charged EV available as compared to fully tanked gasoline vehicle

    5. (e)

      Reason not mentioned above

  • 6. In case you owned an xEV, where will you be charging it?

    1. (a)

      Home/Parking lot of an office or apartment

    2. (b)

      Public charging infrastructure

  • 7. In case you went on a longer trip with an EV, would you consider using only fast chargers, i.e., pulling over for half an hour every 200 km in order to recharge at nominal cost, or would you insist on using a battery swapping station as a mean for receiving a full charge within a minute and pay higher tariff?

    1. (a)

      I am perfectly fine with only fast chargers

    2. (b)

      I would like to have a choice, but I would always use a fast charger as it is cost effective

    3. (c)

      I would definitely use a battery swapping station whenever I can, even if it is costlier than the fast charger.

  • 8. Would you be willing to add half an hour to your trip as a consequence of having to pull over every 200 km in order to fast charge?

    1. (a)

      Yes

    2. (b)

      No

  • 9. Would you be more likely to buy an xEV if you could purchase it without battery pack (i.e., the investment reduction by 50%) and then lease the batteries from the battery swapping station? Assume that there are many battery swapping stations around

    1. (a)

      Yes

    2. (b)

      No

  • 10. Give rank to the following xEVs in terms of which interests you the most (1 being the least interesting and 3 being the most interesting)

    1. (a)

      An internal combustion engine (ICE) is an engine used in most conventional cars in which combustion of fuel (usually gas and petrol/diesel) occurs

    2. (b)

      A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a combination of both electric vehicle and conventional vehicle (IC engine vehicle)

    3. (c)

      A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a HEV but its battery can be recharged via the electric grid, providing purely electric power for a limited range

    4. (d)

      A battery electric vehicle (BEV) operates solely on an electric battery and also features a plug-in charger

  • 11. As the size of an xEV battery increases, the range increases, but so does the cost. With that in mind, how many kilometers minimum would the vehicle range have to be before you would consider buying a battery electric vehicle (BEV):

  • 12. What do you consider your biggest concern about xEVs?

    1. (a)

      High cost

    2. (b)

      Battery range

    3. (c)

      Safety

    4. (d)

      Reliability

    5. (e)

      Charging infrastructure

    6. (f)

      Other, (please specify).

  • 13. Please rank the following attributes of xEVs in terms of which appeals to you the most (1 being the least appealing and 5 being the most appealing)

    1. (a)

      Decrease/eliminate the use of petroleum

    2. (b)

      Less maintenance

    3. (c)

      Reduced air pollution

    4. (d)

      Looks/style

    5. (c)

      Comfort

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Asaad, M., Shrivastava, P., Alam, M.S., Rafat, Y., Pillai, R. (2018). Viability of xEVs in India: A Public Opinion Survey. In: Pillai, R., et al. ISGW 2017: Compendium of Technical Papers. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 487. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8249-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8249-8_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8248-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8249-8

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