Buying An Electric Car Is Easy But Charging At Home Is The Hardest Part: Live Example From MG Windsor Owner (Video)
India has become a lot more modern in the last decade and is now adopting the EV revolution. However, there are still some stupid people who do not want the people in the country to buy and use electric vehicles in peace. We are talking about the few people who oppose the installation of electric vehicle chargers in societies. Recently, a video has gone viral on the internet in which an MG Windsor EV owner has shared how he is being mentally harassed by his society officials. He has highlighted that these officials are not allowing him to install a personal EV charger for his car.
MG Windsor EV owner being mentally harassed by society officials
The video, in which an MG Windsor EV owner shares his experience with the officials of his society regarding installing a personal EV charger, has been shared on Reddit. It starts off with the MG Windsor EV owner taking his vehicle, with only 18 percent charge, out on the road. He explains that he is currently going to charge his vehicle at around 12:30 at night because his society does not want him to install a personal EV charger.
The owner of this Windsor EV then starts talking about his experience with the society officials. He states that two uncles from his society, named Mr. Gupta and Mr. Rajeev, who is the secretary of the society, have asked him not to install personal EV chargers in the society. Interestingly, the owner has shared a small background about Mr. Rajeev in the comments section of this post.
He has highlighted that Mr. Rajeev, who is the secretary of his society, does not stay in his society. Rather, he stays in the neighboring society and has been elected as the secretary because he just owns a flat in this particular society. This point is interesting because the society in which Mr. Rajeev stays already has 10-12 personal EV chargers installed by the people living in that society.
The so-called “solution” from society
Unfortunately, for this particular society in which the MG Windsor EV owner stays, he, along with Mr. Gupta, is preventing the owner from installing a new charger. Rather, the owner explains that they have come up with a new “solution” in which there will be a common area for EV charging.
Now, for this particular area to be converted into an EV charging area, the entire cost will have to be covered by the MG Windsor EV owner and others who own EVs. The owner mentioned that, according to his estimates, the cost of this installation will be around Rs 40,000 for the cables and Rs 30,000 for other things.
As for the solution itself, there will not be a proper EV charging station. Rather, there will be just a 32A socket, with which the owner will have to use the charger provided by MG, which takes 15-17 hours to fully charge a vehicle. Now, not only will this be frustrating for the owner, but he will also have to pay for the electricity bill and will also have to charge the vehicle between 6 AM and 10 PM.
He stated that his office starts at 8 AM, so basically, he will have to skip his office to let his vehicle charge till the evening. Also, if the charging time exceeds even by a minute after 10 PM, the owner will have to pay Rs 5,000 as a fine. What’s even more harassing is that this fine will be charged every day if the owner exceeds the time (this is not a one-time fine).
What does the owner want?
The owner of the MG Windsor EV, with this video, has requested everyone to help him by finding him a proper solution. He added that these people from the society have been mentally harassing him and not letting him charge his vehicle. At the moment, the owner has stated that he has contacted a local corporator, and they have asked him to install his personal EV charger without any worry. However, the new EV charger has not been installed as of yet.
Indian societies prevent personal EV charger installations
This is not the first time that some society officials have caused issues for EV owners. There have been many instances where people do not let EV owners install personal chargers in societies due to fears of vehicles overcharging and catching fire. These people also prevent EV charger installations due to a lack of space, power load management issues, and approval hurdles.
Government’s support for EV charger installations
The good news, however, is that the government of India is helping EV owners. Various high courts of different states in the country have stepped in and are directing housing societies to facilitate charging installations. They have highlighted that personal property rights extend to using parking spaces for charging infrastructure.
Recently, the government of Delhi has made an EV policy that mandates that 20 percent of parking spaces in new residential societies must be EV-ready. Also, Maharashtra and Karnataka have passed similar EV policies. The Central Government is also considering passing a rule that mandates a similar arrangement.
Challenges in EV adoption
Although the government of India is actively working to make EVs more accessible to common people, there are still many challenges that have to be overcome before a complete EV revolution takes place. EV owners today are still struggling with charging infrastructure gaps, higher upfront costs of EVs, battery degradation concerns, electricity supply issues, and range anxiety.
BMW iX EV SUV owner shares his struggle with charging
There are numerous EV owners who have shared their experiences online, in which they have been seen struggling while charging their electric cars. Recently, a person shared that he took his BMW iX EV SUV, worth Rs 1.4 crore, to charge at a Hyundai fast charger, which offered 150 kW DC fast charging.
However, he found out that his vehicle was being charged only at 73 kW. He also highlighted that the total cost of this charge was Rs 1,179, which, when converted to a per-unit cost, comes to around Rs 28.7, which is three times the cost of what it costs to charge at home. This proves that EV ownership is not as low-cost as it is being advertised.