Striving for the target of reaching complete electric mobility, Government of India has been working on launching an EV master app to act as a one-stop shop that will provide information on location and availability of vehicle charging stations.
State-run Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) is in the process of collating information from the private sector for the super app, which is scheduled to go live in the next 4-6 weeks.
The EV master app will detail availability, charger types and charging tariffs, allowing users to make and change reservations at nearby stations.
Mahua Acharya, Managing Director, CESL stated that the government intends to put in place a mutually beneficial arrangement for all stakeholders.
“Apart from information on the network of public charging stations, the app will reflect information shared by OEMs, enhancing visibility and traffic at private charging points. Consumers will get peace of mind knowing that they can readily access information and make reservations at nearby stations if they need to charge their vehicles on the go”, added Acharya.
Acharya said that as most users charge electric vehicles at home or in office complexes, the government is looking at setting up a dense network of e-highways to support inter-city travel.
“We need an extensive network of charging stations at strategic locations, which are safe, well-lit, well-covered and where users can top-up their electric vehicles within an hour,” she said. “This will help cut down battery size, make electric vehicles more affordable, ease range anxiety and speed up adoption of e-vehicles, even for long-haul travel.”
CESL has accordingly designed a service procurement model to involve the private sector for setting up a charging ecosystem.
In this public-private partnership model, CESL will partner with companies whose job will be to invest in and operate these stations across the expressways and highways.
This will enable electric car buyers to take their cars out for long-haul journeys.
Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors, said charging infrastructure is very critical in early phases to encourage its adoption.
Tata Motors, on its part, would like to complement efforts made by central and state governments to accelerate faster adoption of electric vehicles through multiple initiatives including support of charging infrastructure development and enabling customers with Apps to track charging stations.
