{"id":3964,"date":"2024-02-26T21:48:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T16:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evjoints.com\/ev-guide\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2024-02-26T21:49:02","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T16:19:02","slug":"why-are-electric-cars-expensive-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evjoints.com\/ev-guide\/why-are-electric-cars-expensive-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are electric cars expensive in India?"},"content":{"rendered":"

India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry is really young and so far the success has been limited to electric two-wheelers<\/a> & three-wheelers<\/a>. At present, electric car ownership in India is very low. One of the main roadblocks of the electric car industry is the higher cost of technology, which leads to the higher cost of vehicles which ultimately restricts its reach to fewer people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Battery Factor<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Battery<\/p>\n

The most significant part of an electric car\u2019s cost is its battery. Although battery prices have been decreasing over the past few years, they still remain the most noteworthy cost component.<\/span><\/p>\n

India\u2019s EV batteries<\/a> are imported (mostly from China). This is the main reason why EVs are expensive. They run on batteries that have elements that come from very far away. Lithium is mined in South America & Australia, from where they travel to China to become part of battery cells. These cells are then imported to India. In India, these battery cells are assembled into battery packs.<\/span><\/p>\n

But these prices will go down. When the first personal computer came, it was not affordable. Same can be said for laptops & mobile phones. The early personal computers, laptops & mobile phones were priced around $2500 (approx Rs 2 lakhs), $5000 (approx Rs 4 lakhs) & $4000 (approx Rs 3.25 lakhs) respectively. Every new technology is expensive at first but slowly the cost goes down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like mobile phones and laptops, EVs also use lithium batteries, only much bigger in size.<\/span><\/p>\n

Battery Chemistry<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Apart from lithium, EV batteries also contain rare earth metals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Battery<\/p>\n

This complex battery chemistry is the main reason why automobile manufacturers are finding it difficult to achieve price parity between electric & conventional cars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other Factors<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n