[electric_eel]

What do you think about green number plates for Electric vehicles (cars, autos, e-scooters) ? I can see the snob value of it but increasingly I am starting to detest it. Primarily for two reasons

1. The number plates are less legible particularly in dark conditions (night/cloudy days).

2. I prefer my cars to not stand out in the crowd.

On the other hand I should admit that when EVs started plying in Kerala, their green plate is what made me realise there are so many of them and decide to take the plunge. So it does have its "evangelical" value.

What are your opinions on this?

A related question. Is it legal to run a EV with normal number plates?

[ajmat]

They are not distinguishable plate but indistinguishable plates. Very soon, bikes with these plates will be used for muggings. Also one cannot distinguish between a commercial or a passenger vehicle despite the colour of the letters.


In the UK, electric cars have a green vertical bar.

Only reason for distinguising plates would be as they might be a fire hazard

Anyone wants to tell me whats wrong with below?

[GTO]

I love the idea!

- Green numberplates have a bit of a snob value.

- Current EV owners have taken a risk, are early adopters, paid a premium price and are paving the way for the future. For instance, only because of Tata's EV success can it invest more & more into the electric car division.

- Our culture does have some "herd mentality". Seeing so many EVs on our roads makes things reassuring for future EV buyers.

- Watch a "green numberplate" whiz past you, and that entire premise of EVs being slow & boring is gone.

- See a "green numberplate" on the highway and you feel, hmmm, maybe an EV can do road-trips after all.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

What do you think about green number plates for Electric vehicles (cars, autos, e-scooters) ? I can see the snob value of it

To be honest, I personally don't see any snob value at all. It's just another plate, which I wouldn't even pay heed to. Most of the purchases, especially by two wheeler customers, would be because it works out for them and not because of some high ideals (cheaper in total cost of ownership, easy to charge, etc). Many of the car purchases would additionally be due to good acceleration and silent running.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

A related question. Is it legal to run a EV with normal number plates ?

Don't think so. It is like an yellow plate taxi running with normal white plates.

But then like the saying goes, "Unless the police catches you, habibi everything is legal."

Originally Posted by ajmat

Anyone wants to tell me whats wrong with below?

Green plates with exhaust? Looks like someone really wanted to jump on the green bandwagon with a hybrid.

[ruskinash]

A thread exists on this.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5253008 (Visibility of the green number plates of EVs)

Further thoughts:
https://medium.com/@ananddevvs/the-v...s-376ef7683e4b

[madhavgpai]

How do we distinguish private EVs, Rented Evs, Taxi Evs from license plates.

If that is not important, why did we have yellow on black and black on yellow plates?

[payeng]

Originally Posted by madhavgpai

How do we distinguish private EVs, Rented Evs, Taxi Evs from license plates.

If that is not important, why did we have yellow on black and black on yellow plates?

Private EVs: Green Plate with White Digits
Commercial EVs: Green Plate with Yellow Digits..??

[Manualpurist]

Having different plates for EVs is a good idea. But I also think owners, especially who drive on the highway, need to be careful about engaging in any conflict.

[Shresth_EV]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Only reason for distinguising plates would be as they might be a fire hazard

Let’s not get into which is bigger fire hazard, that has been debunked long ago. https://insideevs.com/news/561549/st...fire-risk/amp/

If anything, it is better for identification and use correct extinguishing methods depending on fuel type, provided the number plate isn’t already charred and unreadable by the time Fire dept arrives.

Anyone wants to tell me whats wrong with below?

The mParivahan app says the number belongs to Electric vehicle (BoV) registered in 2016, so I assume someone bought an E2O and later transferred the number to their Camry.

[chiekennugget]

They taste the same as regular numberplate, so why not. Adds variety and you wouldn't say no to it. (joke)

I think EV's having a green plate is a good thing, not only does it highlight that it is an EV, but also helps in reducing stigma that EV=bad, slow, ugly.
It also adds a "premium feeling" to the car. Looks fancy and adds to the car when a it is dark-blue/black.
On the other hand, it stands out too much. I think it should be more subtle, like a green boundary on regular plate, or a green slab on one side.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by GTO

I love the idea!

- Green numberplates have a bit of a snob value.

- Current EV owners have taken a risk, are early adopters, paid a premium price and are paving the way for the future. For instance, only because of Tata's EV success can it invest more & more into the electric car division.

- Our culture does have some "herd mentality". Seeing so many EVs on our roads makes things reassuring for future EV buyers.

- Watch a "green numberplate" whiz past you, and that entire premise of EVs being slow & boring is gone.

- See a "green numberplate" on the highway and you feel, hmmm, maybe an EV can do road-trips after all.

Can't we recoup all the above advantages by badging (the tiago.ev style or more explicitly "electric vehicle") ? As such OEMs are going overboard in the design elements of EVs. I can easily live with a oversized badge than those ugly copper accents or, god forbid, an all copper car.

I think the main point of number plate in vehicle identification in the case of accidents/ criminal activity etc. And there is kind of unanimous agreement that green number plates are almost useless for this purpose. It gets even more tricky in dash cam recordings and CCTV footage.

[karthis91]

Originally Posted by payeng

Private EVs: Green Plate with White Digits
Commercial EVs: Green Plate with Yellow Digits..??

I believe this is the norm, though I’m thinking hard if I have seen one with yellow font actually.

Green number plates were actually introduced as an incentive for EV owners to brag that they are echo-friendly and have zero emission.

It was attractive a few years back and I used to peep out at Ather 2Ws and few other EVs.

It is more common place now, but it does have a significant appeal in making masses comfortable with the idea of EVs. If proper tint of green is used, visibility is not an issue.

[PrasunBannerjee]

Crossposting my views from a different thread on the same topic:

Originally Posted by PrasunBannerjee

Was thinking of the same as more and more EVs ply on our roads. Todays spotted someone rash driving in a 2 wheeler EV. It will be really hard to note the number in any hit and run or similar scenario, heck this might become an intentionally preferred medium for chain snatchers etc. provided high pickup of the vehicle plus low visibility of number plate.

4 wheelers are still ok (only up to a certain extent) as they have bigger registration plates and use bigger and thicker fonts but it is insanely difficult to read out hardly from 10-15 mtrs distance on an EV 2 wheeler.

My suggestions: Bring white on black for EVs, or dark blue lettering on white, or white lettering on dark blue plate, or simply have a blue/green strip by the side to denote an EV much like govt officials do it with red strip. But not the current setup please.

About time this message reaches the higher authorities and proper action is taken before EVs reach more and more masses.

[Blue Express]

For me I don't see any reason why EVs need to have a separate colour. Brands, variant and badging are enough, and number plates should be standard, IMO. In Future we may see additional technologies that power our vehicles- potentially bringing down an array of colours in number plates.