Electric 2-wheelers are not safe, reveals Way2News survey

Hyderabad: With fuel prices skyrocketing and ever rising concerns over carbon emissions, the central government is aiming at reducing the burden of petroleum imports. As a part of this, it is promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs) on a large scale. Subsidies are being offered by the Centre and State governments to encourage the use of electric vehicles. This has led to new companies entering the field of electric two-wheeler manufacturing. But the problem is that new models are being introduced without proper research and manufacturing experience.

The fallout is that the incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, are on the rise, raising concerns over the safety of electric vehicles. The issue has now become a national topic of discussion.

In this backdrop, Way2News, a Hyderabad-based infotainment app, conducted a widespread online survey in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the month of May, which revealed that the majority of people (57 per cent) are of the view that electric two-wheelers are not safe.

A total of 1,50,886 people from the two Telugu States participated in the survey, which focused on current trends in electric vehicle (EV) segment, perceptions of people about EVs and other related issues. Of those surveyed, more than 92.5 per cent are from small cities, towns, and rural areas, while the remaining are from tier 1 and tier 2 cities.

Terming electric 2-wheelers as expensive, they said that they wouldn't mind going for 2-wheeler EVs if prices came down. According to them, it is going to be a long ride for the EV sector.

Of the surveyed, 1.14 lakh people (75.9 per cent) said that the recent fire accidents involving electric two-wheelers will affect their sales in the long run. Interestingly, e-two-wheeler sales declined by about 1 per cent in April this year compared to March. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA), as many as 49,166 units of electric two-wheelers were sold in April, down from 49,642 units in March this year. However, sales jumped 858 per cent in April this year compared to the sales in the same month a year ago. Surprisingly, two-thirds of participants believe electric vehicles are the future. However, more than 55 per cent of respondents were interested in buying an EV from an existing two-wheeler manufacturer rather than from a new company. E-scooters are expensive, according to two-thirds of respondents. However, most respondents are interested in models that cost less than Rs 50,000.

Of the total surveyed, 71,000 respondents are interested in buying electric two-wheelers priced below Rs 50,000. As many as 59,000 people are keen on buying electric two wheelers priced between Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 while 14,000 people will go for electric two-wheelers priced between Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh. However, only 5,648 people expressed their willingness to buy the electric two-wheelers priced above Rs 1 lakh. A large number of people want electric vehicles with a longer range. As many as 66,000 people said the electric two-wheelers should travel more than 200 km on a full charge.