India's Tata to build 1,000 electric vehicle charging spots
NEW DELHI -- Tata Power looks to establish a network of 1,000 electric-vehicle charging terminals here in the Indian capital in five years, responding to the national government's plans to ban sales of gasoline- and diesel-engine vehicles by 2030.
The subsidiary of the Tata Group, India's No. 1 conglomerate, will tackle the ambitious project through a joint venture with the national capital territory of Delhi. Tata Power Delhi Distribution, or Tata Power-DDL, now operates just five electric-vehicle charging stations. Even the nationwide tally of such facilities is said to be languishing at around 100 today.
All 1,000 charging terminals will be set up in northern New Delhi, Praveer Sinha, CEO and managing director of Tata Power-DDL, told the Nikkei Asian Review in an exclusive interview.
The project is expected to cost over 1 billion rupees ($15.2 million). The terminals will be located near shopping malls, train stations, hotels and markets. The number of charging stations will be fewer than 1,000, since some locations will be equipped with two or three charging terminals. Furthermore, each terminal can service five to 10 vehicles at once. Among the 1,000 terminals, 90% will charge lead-acid batteries while the other 10% will be compatible with lithium-ion batteries.
Tata Power-DDL started operating charging stations on a trial basis in 2015. However, the stations only service electric vehicles produced by domestic automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, along with electric scooters from Hero Motocorp, India's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers.
"I don't think the average size of revenues is even 5%" of the break-even point, said Sinha. But he added that the business will become profitable with more users. To attract customers, Tata Power-DDL lets drivers recharge their vehicles for free at a station located near Delhi University.
Making India greener
The growing number of electrified vehicles projected to hit the streets convinced Tata Power-DDL to add more charging centers. There are roughly 40,000 electric autos and two-wheelers in use currently, but that figure will jump to between 6 million and 7 million in five years, according to Sinha.
The government's anti-pollution initiative proved to be the turning point. Back in April, then-Power Minister Piyush Goyal told a business gathering that "not a single" gas or diesel-fueled car will be sold in India by 2030. Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister, also maintains that vision.
this article appeared on asia.nikkei.com
