Current Scenario in India’s EV Infrastructure – Electric Vehicle Charging Station Tech, Biz Models, Battery Swapping

 Last Updated: February 2020 by Narasimhan Santhanam

This post is a part of EV Next’s EV Perspectives.

EV Next, a division of EAI, is a leading market intelligence & strategic consulting firm for the Indian e-mobility sector.

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Industry Structure in India

The EV charging market in India is still in its niche stage, in order to boost the electric vehicle (EV) charging market in India, the government is framing new regulations and policy for mass adoption of EVs in India through FAME II. Here is a broad view of future of EVs in the country.

Existing suppliers

• ~15 firms currently supplying EV Chargers in India
• Only 3 firms in 4W, AC Chargers so far in India
• 4 Wheelers – AC Chargers – RRT Electro Power, Chennai; Mass Tech Controls, Mumbai; Exicom, New Delhi

• These are mostly Power Electronics & Battery Charger manufacturers who have diversified into EV Chargers

• 10-12 firms in small 2W AC Chargers who supply along with their vehicles and a few OEMs for EV Charger

Global EV Charger firms

• 5-6 key global firms eyeing the EV Chargers market closely
• Firms like ABB India, Delta India, Schneider India, Siemens India etc are looking at the

Indian market closely

• These firms have their global designs and products and are studying the technical / specifications, business models and potential for their products

• All these firms are only looking at the 4 Wheelers’ (Cars) EV Chargers

Free EV charging points

To attract customers to some of its malls, property developer and real estate company DLF offers free EV charging at some locations. Similarly, EV manufacturer Mahindra Reva has an agreement with the Gopalan chain of malls to set-up free charging points at its retail centres.

Regulated rates for charging

In the summer of 2017, Tata Power launched Mumbai’s first commercial EV charging station, with customers paying rates set by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission. Reliance, another private power developer, is also reported to be looking at the EV charging market.

Reassess EV charging network

Discom Maharashtra Power Company is looking to use its substations in prime Mumbai and Pune locations as EV charging station sites. In a sign of the challenges, the commercial market presents high costs led discom Bangalore Electricity Supply Co to reassess plans to set-up a smart grid to provide an EV charging network in the city.

Community charging stations

An organic initiative intended to proliferate charging stations beyond city limits – thus contributing to the ecosystem that will allow EV use in India to flourish. Most businesses are connected to the grid and 15 Amp level 2 sockets are common in India. The idea is for businesses and organizations located between 40-70 km around cities to set-up 15 Amp charging stations. The intention is to allow urban EV owners to extend the range of their journeys by offering out-of-town charging. There is currently 222 community charging stations, some offering free charging as an incentive to attract visitors – at resorts and malls for instance – others operate on a commercial basis with customers paying to charge their vehicles. The 15 Amp stations offer slower charging times than the 3 – DC systems set-up by discoms, or offered at most city-centre charging stations.

Investments by Large Fleet Operators

Another area of growth in India’s EV infrastructure is the investment in charging stations by operators of large fleets, many of which are already switching to EVs. Typically, such stations are at main hubs such as bus depots or taxi companies’ main offices or ranks. Taxi aggregator Ola, which operates an EV fleet in Nagpur has set-up 50 charging points across four strategic locations in the city.

Battery Swapping

The nascent concept of battery swapping is an area in which India’s EV infrastructure trends differ from those of more affluent nations. The battery is among the most expensive elements of an electric vehicle, with the cost increases significantly as storage capacity grows. Affordability means that two and three-wheeled vehicles account for 80 percent of India’s domestic vehicle sales.

To ensure electrification of this vital fleet does not make two and three-wheeled vehicles prohibitively expensive, the government is seeking to encourage the sale of vehicles with smaller, and cheaper, batteries; while ensuring users have sufficient range by allowing them to swap low batteries for fully charged ones en-route. The network of battery swapping stations, like those for EV charging stations, is anticipated to develop a number of business models.

Know more on the EV charging ecosystem in India from: Components of EVSE | Bharath DC001 | Bharat AC001 | EVSE Growth Trends | Battery Swapping Growth Trends | EVSE Cost components | EVSE installation costs | Battery swapping in India | Indian EVSE Stakeholders | Charger Standards | Current Indian EVSE status | EVSE Challenges |  EVSE during 2020-2030 |

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See also the blog posts:

• India Electric Vehicle Market Strategic Insights & Perspectives from EAI
• EV Charging Station Installation & O&M Costs for India – Normal AC Charging, Fast DC Charging
• EV Battery Swapping Stations in India – Electric Vehicle Battery Swap Companies, Biz Models…
• EV Charging Station Growth – India & Global AC & Fast DC Electric Vehicle Charging Trends
• Cost Components for Setting Up an EV Charging Station – AC, DC Fast Charging – Hardware, Software, Permits…