When you are stranded in the middle of a journey as your electric vehicle refuses to charge, you can’t just call a roadside mechanic to tinker with it and get it moving. Not yet, at least. Like Suraj Bidlain, a fleet operator in Gurgaon, realised to his horror when his electric three-wheeler would not charge as the battery pack developed some glitches. In Mumbai, meanwhile, Bhim Rao, an entrepreneur, saw his car’s controller was not working. When these EV owners complained, the faulty components of their vehicles were not repaired but replaced with brand-new ones. While EVs are becoming more and more popular, their maintenance is still at a nascent stage.
EVs have an advantage over vehicles that use the internal combustion engine (ICE). While the engine of a conventional car has over 200 moving parts, including pistons, crankshafts and valves, an electric car has just 20 of them. So repairs and maintenance cost are less than those for ICE cars. The average maintenance cost of an electric car that has clocked 50,000 km would be around INR 44,000, while it would be about INR 56,000 for a petrol car and INR 78,000 for a diesel car.
However, EVs do suffer from niggles, as many like Bidlain and Rao would swear, and then companies prefer to replace the parts. “Dealers do the diagnostics but are not encouraged to open up any major, aggregate component of an EV,” says Sulajja Firodia Motwani, CEO of Kinetic Green, a leading player in electric three-wheelers that recently launched the e-Luna scooter. “Electric engines are difficult to access. It is cost-efficient to replace the entire unit rather than to repair it,” she says.
While conventional vehicles have parts like brake discs and brake pads, which can be replaced without affecting other components, an EV has an electronic braking system, which uses the energy generated by braking to recharge the battery. Fiddling with the braking system could affect a range of other functions.
For now, auto manufacturers rely on key suppliers who can quickly replace the faulty parts that are often refurbished and reused later. Many companies have taken a direct service route through franchised partners. “Legacy OEMs have invested in training technicians, providing technology knowhow and equipment to their after-sales network. Pure EV players are still stabilising their network of workshops,” says Ravi Bhatia, president of Jato Dynamics, an automotive market research company.
Ola Electric, an electric scooter major, has over 400 service centres and plans to add 200 more in the next few months. “We offer home service options and have deployed mobile service vans for immediate assistance to our customers in smaller cities. Today, our turnaround time for service has improved, with the majority of vehicle repairs completed in less than two days,” says an Ola spokesperson, adding, “We consistently roll out software updates to ensure continuous well-being of our vehicles.” Most EV complaints relate to charging, battery management systems and software.
Meanwhile, service centres are doubling up as customer-education hubs. Tata Motors, the largest auto major by volume sales in the passenger EV space, finds its EV customers are seeking a different kind of experience on sales and service touch points. “They are sensitive as to how the planet is evolving, very conscious about the cost of driving and desire cutting-edge technology,” says Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, which opened a flagship service centre in Gurgaon. “The manpower at this centre has gone through training programmes not only on the product side but also for soft skills to provide an exclusive experience to customers.”
Customer education covers aspects like maintenance costs, availability of parts, warranty coverage and charging infrastructure.
For now, the pressure on service centres is not much as the share of EVs on the road is low. As per Jato Dynamics data, in CY 2023, the share of electric four-wheelers was 1.7% and two-wheelers 5.03%. Meanwhile, over 50% of three-wheelers were electric.
As more and more EVs hit the road, there is a growing demand for workforce with skills in high-density batteries, software integration and electrical components. The car companies are going full throttle ahead to have students trained in EV programmes. Mercedes-Benz has tied up with eight engineering colleges in Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi-NCR to introduce an EV module in their course on Advanced Diploma in Automotive Mechatronics. “This will strengthen the quality of workforce required for supporting our EV customers,” says Santosh Iyer, MD, MercedesBenz India.
Mahindra has set up Mahindra Technical Corners in some ITIs to increase the talent pool in EV while MG Motor India has partnered with over 20 technical institutes and vocational schools to recruit skilled students. “We have created roles like EV Texpert and EV Technician to handle maintenance and repair services,” says Gaurav Gupta, deputy MD, MG Motor India, the second largest electric PV maker. Tata Motors too has collaborated with institutes and skilling schools, providing support in curriculum design and practical exposure. Auto companies are collaborating with the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) as well to develop a standardised EV curriculum under the National Skill Development Corporation. “We offer 13 courses for EVs and the most popular one is for the EV service technician which is approved by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training,” says Arindam Lahiri, CEO, ASDC.
So what will happen to the roadside mechanic who could open any car hood and fix the vehicle cheap and fast? Will these unorganised service outlets shut down as sales of EVs go up? Manufacturers say ICE vehicles will still be on the road and will need service. Besides, there is a knack to blend the old with the new and many of the unorganised mechanics will find a way to stay relevant even then, say car makers.
