FAQ

Depending on which car model you have, how big the battery is and how fast the charging point is, it can take anywhere from around 60 minutes to 8-9 hours for an electric car to charge up to 80%.

While most of the current electric cars run for 220-280 km on a single charge, the more expensive ones with bigger batteries offer a range of 400 km, as per the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP).

Yes, you can charge it at home.

• With Type 1 AC charger, you can charge from an AC socket, but at 3 kWh it is too slow.
• The Type 2 or wallbox charger is usually installed by car companies (for free currently) at home and is faster. Besides these, there are other faster chargers too.

You can similarly charge the car at your office, using a wallbox charger.Besides, like a petrol pump network, a public electric charging station network is being established by various companies like Tata, EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Ltd), Indian Oil Corp, EVRE, among others, across the country. This is a cheaper and faster way to charge.

There are several mobile apps and websites that can help locate EV charging stations closest to you. Some of the aggregator websites include Tata Motors and Charge-List, while apps include EV Plugs, Tata Power EZ Charge, among several others. Some of these apps are by companies who have established a network of charging stations across the country.

The battery capacity usually ranges from 20-45 kWh. If you charge at home, the cost will depend on the power tariff in your state, which ranges from Rs 8-10 per unit.In Delhi, the cost at charging stations is Rs 4 -4.5 kWh, while domestic rate varies from Rs 3-8 per unit.

This means you will spend Rs 80-202 to charge your EV at a station but the cost will be higher at Rs 160-450 if you do it at home. In Mumbai, the cost is Rs 15 per unit at charging stations, so you will end up spending Rs 300-675.

Yes, anyone can install EV charger at the Business space ex, Hospital, Hotel, Grocery Shop, etc. If your hotel is within a few minutes’ walk of shops, restaurants, convention centers, or tourist destinations, then you stand to create business synergies by offering EV charging facilities.

One of the benefits of EV charging stations at a hotel is that people driving EVs don’t have to leave the area. Whether they’re a guest or a visitor, they can park in your lot and go eat at neighboring restaurants and shop in nearby stores. The same applies if you have your own restaurants or retail operations on your premises.

By offering public EV charging stations, your hotel and the businesses around it will become a more appealing destination to EV drivers. And boosting the economy in your immediate neighborhood is always a good proposition.

Yes, EV fast chargers to be more profitable than petrol pumps, claims energy major BP. BP plans to grow its EV charging business in the coming years to 70,000 charging points by 2030 from 11,000 now. EV chargers are expected to beat petrol pumps in terms of business profitability.

Yes, Aiming to demonstrate the concept of using a clean source of energy (solar) for charging Electric Vehicles (EVs), a new report has shown that electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) with solar rooftop photovoltaic (SRTPV) facility are economically more viable than those with grid. The mismatch between solar energy generation and consumption (from charging) can be solved by deploying net-metering at charging stations.

As per the information received from Department of Revenue, at present the GST rate on Electric charger is 5%.  The GST rates are prescribed based on the recommendations of the GST Council.  Electric vehicles are already at the lowest rate slab of 5%.

Like ICE vehicles, things can go wrong in the case of electric vehicles due to their electric malfunction. Although electric vehicles has fewer movable parts as compared to ICE, vehicles still have lithium-ion batteries which emit a lot of heat when used. The thermal management system plays a critical role. If gone wrong, it is prone to catch fire, and this can lead to lethal accidents, but the possibilities are very low as compared to ICE engines.

Putting solar photovoltaics directly on EVs is nice but not adequate. Most solar panels would add too much weight to an EV to be worthwhile. Some newer, lighter, flexible PV technology could generate power for interior climate control or minor tasks, but not enough to power a car a significant distance. We need to have that plug.  Windmills on EVs don’t make sense. The drag they create reduces efficiency, necessitating more energy to run the car.