While a flight ticket works out cheaper, exploring the world in your own car seems a lot more exciting and liberating
Even though challenges remain, an increasing number of people are shifting to electric cars. In November 2024, the EV segment registered double-digit YoY growth of 14.58%. The charging infrastructure is being consistently upgraded with active participation from both private and public sector companies.
Mumbai to Delhi in MG ZS EV
A better sense of ground realities can only be gained through a long-distance road trip. That’s exactly what Priyans Murarka has been doing for the past few years. Murarka has a passion for documenting the experience of driving EVs in India and sharing it with other EV owners. His latest trip was from Mumbai to Delhi. Murarka has provided detailed information about the entire trip including availability of charging stations, homestays with charging options, route information, hotels, charging cost, toll charges, etc.
The route taken – Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME)
In his earlier trips, Murarka used to travel via the Vadodara and Udaipur route. Since 2022, he has completed all his trips via the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME). While the Vadodara-Udaipur route has plenty of charging options, the driving experience has been better on the DME. The DME is still a work-in-progress project with around 600 km open for traffic. Around 700-800 km is currently under development.
The route taken for the trip covers Nashik, Dhule, Ratlam, Kota, Dausa and lastly Delhi. The Mumbai-Nashik route has plenty of charging stations including an Airbnb with EV charging facility. In the Nashik to Ratlam section, charging options were available in Dhule, Julwaniya, Dhar and Ratlam. The Ratlam-Kota stretch had relatively fewer overnight slow chargers. However, affordable accommodation options were easily available. In the Kota-Dausa route, the available chargers are around 10 km away from the Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
Experience with faulty charging stations
On paper, one may see easy availability of charging stations. But during an actual journey, not all of the shown charging stations may be in working conditions. This implies that EV users should be ready for a back-up plan. Based on his experience, Murarka has shared all the details of functioning and non-functioning EV charging stations. He has also shared the locations of various charging stations. Multiple companies operate charging stations along the Mumbai-Delhi route. It includes ChargeZone, BPCL, HPCL, EV Pump, JioBP, Tata, etc.
Mumbai-Delhi trip cost
Murarka covered a total of 1,468 km during his recent Mumbai-Delhi trip in his MG ZS EV. With a two-night halt itinerary, the overall journey was quite relaxed and stress-free. The total charging cost was Rs 3,519, whereas toll payments were at Rs 2,514. A total of 217 kWh energy was consumed during the journey. Running cost was Rs 2.4 per km. However, other expenses such as food and accommodation are not mentioned. EV owners planning similar trips can get more detailed information on Murarka’s blog.
