Which one is better – EV, Petrol Engine(ICE) or a Hybrid version?

Are you looking for a new car to purchase and since the market has 3 types of vehicles (EV, ICE and Hybrid) you’re confused about what to opt for?

Today we will try in very simple language to explain which one you can consider based on your needs. To understand this let’s take one car from each category with their relevant models.
EV – Tata Nexon EV ICE – Tata Nexon (petrol engine) HYBRID – Maruti Brezza Vxi

NOTE: We are not promoting or defaming any brand/car/technology, we are just trying to explain which one can serve better based on the needs.

Now to understand this in more depth, let’s first understand what these terms mean:
EV: EV stands for Electrical Vehicles. This car comes with a battery pack and a relevant motor which spins the wheels and with all other required accessories. The example which we have taken here for this category is Tata Nexon EV.
ICE: ICE stands for Internal Combustion Engines. This car comes with internal combustion engines i.e… a petrol engine or a diesel engine which we have been using for a decade. The example which we have taken here is Tata Nexon XM Petrol engine.
HYBRID: This type of car contains both the above-mentioned techs coupled together in such a way that both techs kick in whenever required. If the car is running on a smooth highway with a constant speed and which doesn’t require any further/extra power from the engine and if the batteries are charged, the battery power kicks in to run the car with a very minimal or zero output being used from the petrol engine. If the car requires more power and if the batteries are drained out of cannot meet the requirement, then engine kicks in thus, powers the car without any fuss and also starts charging the batteries too. And if there is a case when the car requires power from both, both techs kick-in and start powering the car thus giving more efficiency with less fuel(petrol) consumption which in turn also increases the average. For Example: Maruti Brezza.

Now since we have understood what these technologies are and how they work, now let’s try to understand based on the requirements, which tech to opt for.

Now to understand this in more depth, let’s take some values based on average and let’s take the car models with same/similar model group. Also let’s take the running per year to be 10,000 KMs. Also, the price of petrol and electricity are different in different states, so to keep the average, let’s take these as ₹100 per liter and ₹6 per unit.

So, first let’s make the comparison on a typical EV and ICE and then come back to Hybrid. Also let’s maintain a scoreboard to keep track. SCORE BOARD = EV: 0 | ICE: 0

Now let’s do our comparisons

1. COST PRICE OF THE VEHICLE

Tata Nexon ICE: ₹10,00,000 Tata Nexon EV: ₹15,00,000 So, if we compare the prices, for an EV, we must pay around 40 – 50% more on day one which effects the pocket deeply. Thus, the score is: SCORE BOARD = EV: 0 | ICE: 1

2. INSURANCE EVERY YEAR

Since the insurance is always based on the price of the vehicle, and since this is a recurring cost which a user have to bear every year which means every year an EV user will need to pay around (40 – 50%) more then a ICE user. So here again our ICE wins. The score now is: SCORE BOARD = EV: 0 | ICE: 2

3. MONTHLY RUNNING COST

To calculate this, we must find out per KM running cost of both. Now, we know that every car brand does claim their best ranges but we will take the average ranges claimed in many reviews. Here “per single charge” means when the batter was charged to 100%.
Tata Nexon EV: 450 KMs per single charge claimed but we will take 300 KMs. Tata Nexon ICE: 18 KMs/L claimed but we will take of 12 KMs/L.
Now in case of our EVs, if we charge them at home, considering the battery capacity to be around 42KWs, so it will take around ₹300 to charge the batteries to 100% and since the range is 300 KMs, the per KM cost will be ₹1/KM.
Now in case of ICE, in one liter petrol, the car runs for 12KMs, which means the per KM cost will be ₹8/KM.
Here clearly our EV wins and now the score board is: SCORE BOARD = EV: 1 | ICE: 2

4. BREAK EVEN ON UPFRONT PAYMENTS

Now to buy an EV, I’ll need to pay around 4 Lakhs (average) more upfront as compared to an ICE and if my running per year is around 10,000 KMs then to recover this cost, it will take around 6 years and after 6 years only, I’ll be utilizing real EV as now I’ll be saving money as compared to an ICE. So, here clearly EV wins. So our score now is SCORE BOARD = EV: 2 | ICE: 2

Now it’s a tie between the two. Now let’s move to the other very important factor.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY

Now since EV runs on battery power i.e., a clean source of power and an ICE run on petrol i.e., a polluting resource this clearly states that EV is better but here is the twist. The power which will be used to charge the battery is generated using coal power(around 70%) which means if more EVs are produced and purchased, more reliability towards coal power will increase thus in one way or the other both are polluting the environment. Thus, here no point will be given to any of these two, so our score board will remain the same. SCORE BOARD = EV: 2 | ICE: 2

Now again it’s a tie, so what to do since both are on the same scale, the answer to this question is a HYBRID version. As explained in the beginning a hybrid car is the ultimate solution to this problem.

In terms of cost a hybrid vehicle stands in between an ICE and an EV, for example: Maruti Brezza VXI costs around 13Lakhs which means:
Tata Nexon ICE: ₹10,00,000 Maruti Brezza Vxi: ₹13,00,000 (Hybrid) Tata Nexon EV: ₹15,00,000
In terms of running cost, as explained above, it has the capacity to harness the power from both options thus emitting less pollution and giving a huge range of KMs per liter. For example Maruti Brezza on road gives an average of around 20 KMs per liter which means around ₹5 Per KM.

Now, you can easily decide which one you have to opt for depending on your needs and your pocket.