Tata Power, India’s largest integrated utility and a pioneer in the clean energy sector in the country expects to make its mark in the fast-emerging electric vehicle (EV) segment by creating a national network of charging infrastructure.
As the Indian automotive sector emerges from a prolonged slump in sales, the growth in demand for EVs is expected to outstrip IC (internal combustion vehicles powered by fossil fuel). In 2019- 20, over 1.5 lakh electric vehicles were sold in India against 1.35 lakh in 2018- 19, recording a 20% jump in volume sales. In the current financial year, Tata Power will be working closely with the EV industry to enable India’s large scale migration to clean transportation across all segments including two and four-wheelers.
As part of its plans to help the EV migration in India, Tata Power will be investing substantially to expand its network of smart EV charging points from around 170 now to over 700 by end of the current financial year under the Brand name of Tata Power EZ Charge.
Mr Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, “Despite the protracted slump in the Indian automotive sector, we continue to remain bullish about the future of the country’s mobility business and we believe that large-scale shift to clean mobility is inevitable. With the right policy framework in place, large domestic demand for clean mobility solutions and consistent drop in the total cost of ownership of EVs are strong signs of the direction in which India is moving. Over the last two years, we have been investing in a national network of charging infrastructure and expect to expand this further during the current financial year too.”
Tata Power is also part of Tata uniEVerse (with the participation of other Tata Group companies) that has also been conceived and developed as a complete e-mobility ecosystem to cater to the future mobility demands that will be strongly anchored on sustainable solutions.
Tata Power EZ charge network has already installed 170 fast and smart-charging points in various usage environments in more than 20 cities across the country, including major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad and expects to continuously expand the coverage to more cities by the end of the current financial year making them EV ready. Tata Power also plans to create infrastructure for home charging as well as continue expanding it’s public charging locations like at metro stations, shopping malls, theatres and highways. The company is also in talks with metro rail authorities and municipal corporations for setting up EV charging stations across the country. The company will also be expanding its EV charging infrastructure at Tata Group-owned outlets such as Chroma, WestSide, Titan watch showroom, and Indian Hotels. Also, Tata Power has developed a world class platform for EV charging which includes various functionalities for corporates, fleets and individual users of EVs. Through an intuitive Mobile app based on this platform, customers locate, navigate, charge their vehicles and also pay for the charging apart from a host of information and analytics available to them.
Over the last two years, Tata Power has signed MoUs for setting up commercial EV charging stations at fuel outlets owned by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and Indraprastha Gas Limited and will continue to expand its relationship with multiple such stakeholders.
They have also tied up with Tata Motors, Jaguar Land Rover to provide entire charging solutions to them including stations at their locations and home charging for the customers of their cars.