1. Goa CM asks petrol pumps in the state to provide EV charging facilities.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recently held a meeting with oil company officials and asked them to provide EV charging facilities at petrol pumps in the state. Earlier the oil companies had certain issues regarding EV charging rates but those have been resolved after a lengthy discussion.
A couple of months back, the state government of Goa had presented proposals related to making new tourist & government vehicle purchases electric from January 2024. Also, it will be mandatory for permit holders having multiple tourist taxis and rent-a-bike & rent-a-cab operators to retrofit 30% of their fleets by June 2024. For more details on the same, visit here.
2. Tata Nexon EV Facelift features revealed.
Tata Motors recently introduced the Nexon EV Facelift. It looks similar to its ICE counterpart, but with certain EV-specific touches. However, cosmetic features aren’t the only difference between the two. The biggest differentiator between the new Nexon & its electric variant is the front profile, which makes it easier to differentiate the two. The Nexon EV gets a dazzling LED strip running across the width of the front. It also lights up while charging to reflect the state of charge. Also, the automaker is offering the Nexon EV in a special ‘Empowered Oxide’ colour option with the car’s top model. Tata Motors had showcased its Sierra EV concept in the same colour at the 2023 Auto Expo.
The new 2023 Tata Nexon EV comes in mid-range & long range options. The mid-range model comes with a 30 kWh battery pack, which gives a range of 325 km and the long range model comes with a 40.5 kWh battery pack, which gives a range of 465 km.
The ICE Nexon facelift comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, but the electric one takes it a notch higher by sporting a bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen (available in long range top model). Another feature which is exclusive to the electric variant is ‘Arcade.ev’. Arcade.ev is an app store through which users can play games, music & stream videos via OTT apps like Netflix, Hotstar & Amazon Prime. This feature is to help the driver pass time while the car is being charged and won't be accessible while the car is being driven. The Nexon EV also gets a 2-spoke back-lit flat-bottom steering wheel.
As far as safety is concerned, the Nexon EV gets all the safety features which are offered in the ICE Nexon, and additionally, also gets an electronic parking brake & all-wheel disc brakes.
3. Ashok Leyland launches electric light commercial vehicles.
Ashok Leyland (part of the Hinduja Group) recently celebrated its 75th year of operations. At an event commemorating the same, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, unveiled the IeV Series of electric light commercial vehicles (eLCV) from the company’s EV arm, Switch Mobility.
The Switch IeV Series (IeV 3 & IeV 4) will give a range of up to 300 km and have a payload capacity of up to 1.7 tons. The vehicles feature a ‘Switch iON system’, through which the EV user will get information including real-time updates about the vehicle's location, operating route and drive history.
These electric light commercial vehicles from Ashok Leyland will compete with Tata Ace EV.
Ashok Leyland has already signed agreements with e-commerce majors Amazon India & Flipkart, and will supply 13,000 of these EVs over the next 3 years.
The Switch IeV comes with the same cabin as Ashok Leyland's light commercial vehicles Dost & Bada Dost. This allows the company to ramp up production as per requirements. The company has also signed agreements with companies in Nepal & Bangladesh and will be exporting the EVs. Bookings with begin in October 2024 and deliveries are expected to start in January 2024.
4. Ather Energy secures fresh investments.
Ather Energy has secured fresh investments of Rs 900 crores from Hero MotoCorp and Singapore-based investment firm GIC. Hero MotoCorp already has a 33.1% equity stake in Ather and is investing another 550 crores in the company.
Ather will deploy this investment towards new products and to expand its 'Ather Grid' charging network. Just recently, Ather introduced the 450S, its most affordable electric scooter. The 450S features a 3 kWh battery pack, which gives a range of 115 km and has a top speed of 90 km/hr. It has been priced Rs 1,29,999 onwards.
5. FASTag-based EV charging payments announced.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently announced a new National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC)-based payment system at EV charging stations across the country. This will allow people to charge their EVs with FASTag. This comes a few months after NPCI had announced FASTag payments at petrol pumps.
Apart from the above, NPCI in collaboration with fintech company LivQuik, launched a wearable contactless payment ring. This ring is ‘Made in India’ and allows users to make payments to NFC-enabled devices.
For complete EV charging solutions, explore the Kazam website.
