Range Anxiety in India: When It Matters & When It Doesn’t (Cars + Scooters)

Here’s a true story: My wife and I have been in the midst of planning our next vehicle purchase. And as with the territory, it has entailed a lot of consulting friends and family, and obsessively scouring over the best prices and financial incentives across the spectrum.

However, as people who are not immune to the EV hype, we also have been locked in a fierce debate that neither of us has truly emerged victorious in (or conceded to the other party).

The debate being:  “Is an EV a good fit for us?”

Thankfully, we are self-aware enough to realise that this is a question that is on the mind of a lot of people. Not just us, our friends and family, or other urban couples of similar age, income, and socio-demographic brackets. This becomes even clearer when you explore official industry research and data.

However, another thing also becomes very clear: A lot of people have a lot of range anxiety.

So, to start with,  I guess the question is: what is ‘Range Anxiety’? 

In simple terms,  it’s the fear of “What if my battery runs out before I reach a charger or my destination?”

You might be someone who is very familiar with the topic, or someone who scratches his/her head at the mere mention. Either way, it’s very real and very important to think about.

Range anxiety is one of the most common reasons people hesitate to switch to an electric vehicle. People just don’t trust the charging infrastructure (despite its growth) as much as they do traditional petrol pumps.

Let’s explore it step-by-step in a bit more detail.

Let’s Understand One Thing: Range Anxiety in India is Not Universal

That’s right. The fear of “Good lord, my EV might run out of charge halfway through the long-distance trip” isn’t exclusive to any sort of person. We all have that, to varying degrees.

Now, the ‘degrees’ of that equation? They can depend on:

• Where you live
• Your daily travel pattern
• Type of vehicle (4W vs 2W)
• Segment of vehicle (more premium EVs have 600km+ range)
• If you have home charging
• And how often do you go on highway or long-distance trips

What’s the good news?  In the year of our lord 2025, with better EV technology, improved fast-charging networks, and higher real-world ranges, range anxiety has gone down significantly, especially for city users. But that doesn’t mean the battle is won just yet. 

It’s not that easy to completely erase instinctual fears, paranoia, and worries. Especially when they can be well justified.

Not everyone faces range anxiety. But for certain users and certain situations, it is absolutely valid and must be considered. Let’s explore:

1. Highway Driving (Cars & Scooters)

Most EV range anxiety in India shows up on highways.

Why does it matter?

• Fast chargers are still uneven beyond major cities.
• Many highway stations have only one charging gun, if it’s occupied or offline, you wait.
• High-speed driving reduces range by 10–20%.
• Planning matters more than with petrol/diesel.
• Driving uphill in mountain roads can change range estimates by -20%.

Whom does it affect directly?

• People who regularly travel cross-country. Pune to Mumbai, Delhi to Jaipur, Bengaluru to Mysuru, Chennai to Pondicherry.
• Sales professionals covering multiple cities
• Drivers of entry-level EVs with small batteries (Tiago EV MR, Comet EV, some scooter variants)

If you are a frequent highway traveler, range is often a major buying factor. So it’s only reasonable that range anxiety should be a legitimate source of concern.

2. Rural & Semi-Urban Commuters

EVs work beautifully in cities, but in rural regions, they face a set of strong challenges.

What are the challenges? Let’s explore:

• Fewer public charging stations
• Voltage fluctuations affecting home charging
• Limited access to fast charging
• Long distances between towns

Here’s the truth: Scooters with <100 km real range may struggle for users with large daily round-trip distances. If you live in a non-metro area, range anxiety is real.

3. Delivery Riders & Commercial Fleets

The rapid rise of e-commerce and last-mile logistics in India is no secret. A large segment of EV scooter users in India: Zomato, Swiggy, Zepto, Amazon, Flipkart, clock 120–150 km/day. And a lot of these units do a lot of commuting throughout the day, on very tight schedules.

What are the concerns for this segment?

• Smaller 2–2.5 kWh batteries need mid-day charging
• Scooters lack fast-charging options
• Charging downtime directly hurts income
• Range drops 20–25% with a pillion or hilly terrain

Fleet operators should buy scooters with bigger batteries (3–4 kWh), swap-compatible designs, and have a correct estimation of the traffic range and distances of the cities they live in. It’s simply essential.

4. Driving in Extreme Weather (Heat or Cold)

India’s weather is as diverse as it can be. And there is no doubt that the climate can significantly affect EV range.

Heat Zones (Rajasthan, Delhi summers):

• AC usage increases consumption
• Batteries heat faster
• Range loss: 10–15%

Cold Zones (Shimla, Kashmir, Ladakh):

• Batteries lose efficiency
• Heating drains battery
• Range loss: 20–35%

If you’re in extreme-weather regions, range should be a core buying criterion. You simply cannot afford not to be mindful of it.

5. First-Time EV Buyers Coming from Petrol/Diesel

Some drivers are used to:

• 300–600 km tank range
• 5-minute refueling
• Delivering high speeds on highways

Such users may initially experience mental range anxiety.

Need some clarity? Here’s an example:

A user who previously drove a Creta diesel might feel “underconfident” shifting to a 220–300 km real-range EV, even if their actual daily usage is only 30–40 km.

For them, range anxiety will matter in the first few days — but usually fades quickly.

Yes. This is the part most people don’t realize (and the part that often gets swept under the rug).

For 80–85% of Indian drivers, range anxiety is simply not a practical issue (or at least it shouldn’t be).

Let’s break down why.

1. Daily City Commutes (Across India)

The Indian urban commute is surprisingly short:

• Cars: 25–35 km/day
• Scooters: 18–25 km/day

Even the smallest EVs today offer:

• Cars: 200–350 km real range
• Scooters: 80–140 km real range

This means one charge can last:

• 4–7 days for cars
• 3–5 days for scooters

For routine urban life, like going to the office, school, gym, and groceries, you will simply not face range anxiety.

2. Home Charging = 90% Reduction in Anxiety

If you have:

• Dedicated parking
• A home plug
• Overnight charging

Then range anxiety is almost eliminated. You wake up every day with a “full tank,” and you no longer think about charging stations.

This is why home charging is India’s biggest EV advantage. And hence, why it’s often pointed out as being critical to making sustainability mainstream in the country.

3. Metro Users (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai)

Urban EV infrastructure has improved massively. Most people prefer commuting my metros instead of their vehicles. Including more urbanites.

You get:

• Chargers in malls, offices, tech parks
• Ola Hyperchargers across metros for scooters
• Numerous Tata, Zeon, Jio-bp, and Statiq chargers for cars
• Dense charger maps in city cores

Metro users typically lose range anxiety within a week. Why? They always know they have a safer option in their daily commuting habits.

4. Predictable, Low-Mileage Daily Routines

Users who only travel within their neighborhood or city limits, especially families with multiple vehicles, simply don’t encounter range issues.

Typical “no range anxiety” users:

• Office commuters
• Students
• Elderly drivers
• Families doing school pickups
• City-only drivers

If your EV is a secondary vehicle (car+EV scooter is a very common situation), range is even less relevant.

Let’s keep this simple: Range Anxiety is much lower for EV four-wheelers as compared to two-wheelers. Why is that?

EV four-wheelers have:

• Bigger batteries (30–80 kWh)
• Better thermal management
• Faster charging options (30–150 kW)
• Stable efficiency

They also have fairly impressive ranges:

• Entry EVs: 150–220 km
• Mid-range: 220–350 km
• Premium: 350–500 km

However, there can be instances of range anxiety that can often develop for EV four-wheeler owners. It typically appears during:

• Highway runs
• Extreme weather
• No home charging situations

Now, when it comes to Scooters, obviously, they can sometimes lead to commuters facing more  anxiety because:

• Batteries are smaller (2–4 kWh)
• No true fast charging
• Range drops with pillion, hills, and aggressive riding

• Limited public charging

And the ranges they offer are far less than four-wheelers:

• Budget scooters: 55–75 km
• Mid-range: 80–110 km
• Premium: 110–150 km

Scooters require more planning for:

• Delivery work
• Long commutes
• Hilly cities like Bengaluru, Pune, and Shillong

Indians are, if anything, creatures of hype, aspirations, and expectations ( that’s not being harsh). Many Indians expect petrol-like behavior from EVs. More so, when they pay a good sum of money for their vehicle purchase.

This creates perceived anxiety, even when the range is sufficient.

Here are the most common psychological triggers:

A. First Week of Ownership

New EV buyers keep checking:

• Percentage
• Range left
• Distance to empty

After a week or two, they stop worrying because charging becomes habitual.

B. People Loving “Full Tank Feelings”

Drivers used to 500–700 km tanks miss the comfort, even if they don’t drive that much.

C. Occasional Highway Users

Planning feels scary at first, but after one or two long trips, confidence increases.

D. Families With Multiple Vehicles

Anxiety is low because the petrol/diesel vehicle acts as a backup.

Here’s a situation chart I prepared for your reading pleasure, while I was doing my research. Browse away:

Situation	EV Cars	EV Scooters
Daily city commute <40 km	No concern	No concern
No home charging	Minor concern	Medium concern
Weekly highway trips	Major concern	High concern
Hilly cities	Medium concern	Major concern
Delivery mileage >120 km/day	Only small-battery cars	Major concern
Rural areas	Yes	Yes
Metro users	No concern	Low concern
Secondary household vehicle	No concern	No concern

 

The right way to think about all this is: 

“Does my lifestyle actually demand more range than the EV I’m buying?”

Range anxiety is real only in certain scenarios. As we’ve established, for 80–85% of Indian buyers, it is now more psychological than practical. As George Harrison of The Beatles said: “It’s all in the mind”.

The fact of the matter is, EVs have matured:

• Bigger batteries
• Better charging infrastructure
• Fast chargers on key highways
• Reliable 200–350 km daily usable range
• Better scooter efficiency
• More services for route planning

If you’re a highway driver, delivery rider, or rural commuter, then choose the right EV with a buffer, and range anxiety won’t catch you either. So you can feel free and confident about jumping on the EV hype train next time you consider a vehicle purchase.