EV Motors to set up 6,500 charging stations; Plans to invest Rs 14 billion

Electric vehicles start-up EV Motors has tied up with ABB and Delta to install over 6,500 charging outlets across cities, businesses and residential complexes of India, over the next five years with an estimated investment requirement of around Rs 14 billion. The announcement comes a day after the Delhi government announced it plans to give full subsidy for setting up charging points in the city.

The first public electric vehicle charging outlet will be called ‘PlugNgo’. The chargers will be networked and connected to PlugNgo’s cloud-based integrated software platform.

“For the nation to progress towards the vision of a large fleet of EVs across the country, a co-ordinated approach between Real Estate Developers, Vehicle OEMs and Charger Manufacturers is necessary and we thank our partners for all their support and look forward to a continued engagement with them,” said Vinit Bansal, managing director, EV Motors India.

On Tuesday, the Delhi government released the draft 'Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2018' under which the state wants to have 25 per cent of all new vehicles electric by 2023.

The Delhi government will offer a subsidy up to Rs 22,000 on purchase of electric two-wheelers to ensure their cost is less than or equal to petrol two-wheelers. This policy will allow open permit system for e-autos in Delhi while individual e-auto owners will get down payment subsidy up to Rs 12,500 and 5 per cent interest subvention and similarly the cashback for passengers using e-autos up to Rs 10 per trip will be offered through this policy.

For charging points, the state plans to give 100 per cent subsidy with a cap of Rs 30,000 for first 10,000 charging points at residential and non-residential buildings.

PlugNgo over the course of next 12 months plans to set up 20 outlets in the Delhi NCR followed by expanding its reach to other cities including, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Cochin, Indore, and Chennai and will also be setting up service centres at each of the cities to provide seamless support for its customers.

“DLF is recognized globally as front runners of inculcating green business practices, and is known for constantly improving health and safety standards in all its premises. With all our DLF Cyber City buildings being LEED Platinum certified, it is our endeavour to become future ready and we are pleased to announce our association with PlugNgo,” Amit Midha, VP Operations and Cluster Head North India, DLF India said.

PlugNgo will deliver customized installation support, round the clock service, maintenance support and remote vehicle charging monitoring & e-payments through the PlugNgo mobile application based on iOS & Android platforms, in addition to the range of charging equipment for all kinds of two-wheelers, three- wheelers, passenger cars and buses that comply with the Global Charging Standard.

The PlugNgo charging solution also comes laced with a vehicle to vehicle charging proposition that can be availed through the PlugNgo mobile application, controlled and maintained by a location based networking system. Under this service, any vehicle, within the company’s network, left stranded due to battery dissipation shall be assisted with its charging needs within 30 minutes by a services vehicle provided by the company’s service centres.

“India is at the cusp of evolving into one of the world’s fastest growing economies. To propel on this notion further, it needs to rapidly adapt to new age reforms and technological changes that can potentially change the future. Electrically powered vehicles are a critical element of the future, thus we are happy to partner with PlugNgo to help the country realize this potential,” K.N. Sreevatsa, Business Unit Manager – DM Power Conversion, ABB India said.