Despite the huge discounts and cost savings, why are logistics companies still reluctant to adopt electric vehicles

The demand for electric vehicles is increasing day by day due to rising fuel prices, subsidies given by the government and to protect the environment. In view of the increasing demand for electric vehicles in India, the Government of India has inspired metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad to adopt electric vehicles. However, logistics companies are still avoiding adopting electric vehicles, what is the reason for this, today we are going to talk about this

Why are logistics companies not adopting electric vehicles despite subsidies given by the government

(1) Lack of servicing and maintenance

• Logistics companies are not adopting electric vehicles because charging stations have not yet been developed enough to charge electric vehicles in India. Apart from this, there is also a lack of skilled workers for servicing and maintenance of electric vehicles.

 (2)Resale Value

• Electric vehicles have no resale value in the market. Logistics companies get money by selling petrol and diesel vehicles in the second hand market, whereas there is no second hand market for electric vehicles. Due to which companies are avoiding electric vehicles.

(3) Waiting for hours for charging

• Logistics companies work continuously for 24 hours a day and 12 months a year. As a result, they need fuel all the time. Due to which they carry fuel with them. There is no such system in electric vehicle trucks, they have to be charged from time to time and charging
  

  electric vehicle charging station

  takes hours and filling petrol and diesel takes only 5 to 10 minutes. This is also a reason for logistics companies not adopting electric vehicles.

(4)Battery life and replacement cost

• The life of the battery used in electric vehicles is very short.  Due to which they have to be changed from time to time and the cost of changing the battery is also very high, due to which logistics companies are not including electric vehicles because of all these necessary expenses.

(5) Load carrying capacity and performance

• Electric vehicles can carry less weight than diesel and petrol powered vehicles. Logistics companies need vehicles that can carry more weight and their average is also less than diesel and petrol powered vehicles. Diesel and petrol powered vehicles are less costly for logistics companies for long routes.

(6) High initial cost

• The operational cost of electric vehicles is more than petrol and diesel powered vehicles and their initial cost is also very high. Due to this reason also, logistics companies are avoiding adopting electric vehicles.

(7) Limited battery range and charging time

• Once the tank of petrol and diesel powered vehicles is filled, they keep running continuously for hundreds of kilometres. On the other hand, electric vehicles come in limited variety, that is, the range will be determined by the price.  Not only this, it also takes a lot of time to charge an electric vehicle and till now the Indian government has not been able to develop charging stations in India in sufficient quantity.

(8) Lack of charging infrastructure

• The total number of charging stations in India till now is 25000. Under the PM E Drive scheme, work is going on to install 50000
  

  electric trucks – logistic magazine

  charging stations in the next 15 months. Due to the lack of charging stations, logistics companies have not yet adopted electric vehicles because in India, petrol pumps have been developed in sufficient quantity for diesel and petrol vehicles, while the development of charging infrastructure is still in the initial stage.

Will logistics companies adopt electric vehicles in the future?

The future belongs to electric vehicles because air pollution is increasing a lot due to diesel and petrol. In states like Delhi, due to air pollution in the winter season, diesel and petrol driven vehicles are restricted from entering the city. The Government of India also wants to move towards eco-friendly fuel. That is why the Government of India is running the PM E-Drive scheme. So that a network of charging stations can be developed and the Government of India is also working on the logistics companies which are not adopting electric vehicles due to the above mentioned reasons. For this, the Government of India is also preparing mechanics for maintenance and service of electric vehicles under the Bharat Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

Conclusion

Even though electric vehicles are environment friendly, but due to lack of charging infrastructure and more time taken in charging, logistics companies are avoiding it, although the future belongs to electric vehicles.