Rinco Aria: Will the 2.4 million cheap electric car in Pakistan be able to get rid of petrol completely?
Rinco Aria car:I was shocked to see the price of petrol. But what to do petrol is a must. A petrol powered car & a motorbike that are parked.
Electric car ' Farhan Durrani a resident of Lahore is not only person who fears a further rise in petrol prices but almost every Pakistani fears that if not today total price of petrol could reach Rs 200 per liter if not today.
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Electric Car : Anyone who has to go to the office every day pick up children from school or leave home knows that petrol is a basic need without which it is not possible to live.
Farhan explains that it was out of fear that his company boss who is interested in cars bough cheapest' electric car Rinco Aria recently introduced in Pakistan to find out if country Having an electric car can be a successful experience.
He says that if petrol is out of reach of common people then this car of 2.4 million will become a necessity for every one.
Zahid Pervaiz the owner of Pearl Motors says that price at which this car has been introduced is almost the same as price of ordinary small cars in Pakistan & it is unthinkable to buy an electric car for less than that.
He is also correct to some extent because at present the cheapest electric car in Pakistan is the MG company ZSEV. This SUV is worth around Rs.
Why fewer buyers of electric vehicles in Pakistan?
Apparently there is a lot of interest in electric vehicles in country but not many buyers. Lahore University of Management Sciences LUMS Professor Naveed Arshad has done a lot of research on electric vehicles suitable for Pakistan.
He says 1st challenge for the industry is fear of new technology. The biggest fear is that price of these electric cars which can go up to 50% is high because their batteries are expensive.
You have to pay a higher price at ¹st but 3 to four years of use petrol & maintenance savings pays off.
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According to him question remains in minds of the people that I will take it but where will I charge? There will be no electricity in the house due to load shedding.
Where do I charge if I live in a flat instead of at home? Where-will charging be on the way out of town?
Naveed Arshad says that people are reluctant because mechanics of ordinary vehicles can be found everywhere but where will the parts and mechanics of these vehicles be found.
But they think it is only a matter of time before people adopt technology.
He is optimistic about development of eco friendly technology because efficiency of petrol powered vehicles is 20 to 25 percent, while in electric cars it can be as high as 90 percent.
How much less expensive to drive an electric car than a petrol car?
According to the company Rinco Aria costs around Rs 400 to Rs 500 for a full charge at home after which it can be operated at a speed of 60 kmph with a range of up to 200 kms.
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Apparently price of around Rs 3,4 per km for a city drive is not so high. But comparing a petrol car to an electric car has some interesting results.
Naveed says he & his colleagues have done several tests to find out how much it costs to run an electric car per kilometer in Pakistan.
During January this year we charged 1 second electric car in three ways: fast charging ie electric charging stations in public places domestic connection & solar.
According to the results of their research, the cost of electric car on fast charging is Rs 7.5 per km which is around Rs 10 to 15 in a petrol car.
The most interesting thing is that an electric car costs four rupees per kilometer on home electricity and if I charge on solar it costs 1 & a half rupees per kilometer. These are the costs incurred by Solar on their installation & ten years of maintenance.
Keep in mind that both of these types of charging take a little longer.
However this difference is significant in terms of cost. According to Naveed if electric vehicles become commonplace in country it could make a significant difference in oil import bill.
Currently 40% of Pakistan electricity is generated from environmentally friendly sources like water solar or wind & if our hydro projects are completed by the year 2025 this proportion could go up to 60%. So the power sources can be gradually green.
He said that now there are electric vehicles in the world whose batteries can also be used as UPS. They have 2 way power flows that can be used to power house during load shedding.
So will Rinco Aria be able to walk in Pakistan?
This car is parked at the showroom of Zahid Pervez who says that many people come to see it & take interest in it by asking its price and features.
I really like the car he says. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals.
While Farhan Durrani says that keeping in view the savings of petrol & mobile oil if consumers increase their budget buying it will be of great benefit to them. They are satisfied with the quality of this car.
On the other hand in opinion of electric vehicle expert Naveed Arshad Rinco Aria is good at running but it will face some challenges in the Pakistani market.
He says that since small vehicles are lighter their efficiency is better in the city. But Rinco Aria will be successful in Pakistan only if its parts etc. are made available.
When he drove the car in Karachi he realized that his AC was not so impressive. A person who is buying a car worth Rs 24 lakh will want comfort in his drive and without a good AC at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius he will-not spend Rs 24 lakh. Even if its range is slightly reduced performance of the AC cannot be compromised.
It will take some time.
Question that is often asked is how long will it take for electric vehicles to become commonplace in the country.
We have 2 options says Naveed. 1st is that we have to wait & see when prices of electric cars around the world go up.
It could take four to five years. When everyone adopts them we will adopt them too.
According to him ²nd way is to make people in Pakistan understand that the economic benefits of this car are huge.
On the grounds that these vehicles will never be known to clean the environment. This is not a priority for most of us. People will be interested in it only if they know that it will save them money.
Naveed points out that there should be schemes at government level such as a company in England selling its car batteries in easy installments so that people can save money on petrol in installments.
He says it will be easier to make electric vehicles in Pakistan because it has around 30 moving parts & other cars have 200 or more. The complexity lies in its software batteries and motor control units because that what its engine is all about.
On the other hand Rizwan Ijaz says that it will take some time for them to become normal. ¹ would buy this electric car a year later when he saw it with a friend & was impressed with its performance.
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