1. JSW Group looking to pick up stake in MG Motor India.
JSW Group is eyeing an entry in the automobile sector and may pick up stake in MG Motor India. Talks are on and JSW can go for 15-20% stake in MG India. The conglomerate has been looking to enter the automobile market as part of its diversification strategy. Earlier, it was in talks with General Motors India to acquire its Talegaon plant (Maharashtra) in 2019 but dropped the plan due to the pandemic. MG India is finding it difficult to raise money from China due to certain restrictions imposed by the government.
2. Intercity electric bus fleet launched.
Bengaluru-based electric bus service startup ‘FreshBus’ announced the launch of its first electric bus fleet on the Bengaluru-Tirupati route. With state-of-the-art electric buses, the company aims to provide affordable & eco-friendly intercity bus service between multiple cities in the future.
The new FreshBus fleet comprises of 12-metre, 45-seater premium electric buses. The company’s services are currently available on the Bengaluru-Tirupati route at an introductory price of Rs 399 per person. The company will also begin services on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada route by the end of April. The buses deployed have a range of 400 km and can be charged from 0-100% within 2 hours. The maximum speed is 90 km/hr. Sudhakar Reddy, Founder, FreshBus, stated: “We are initially launching 24 electric buses this month between Bengaluru-Tirupati & Hyderabad-Vijayawada. In the next phase, we will start services on the top 100 routes across India, covering routes from/to Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Goa, Pune & more. By the end of 2026, we expect to scale to 1000+ electric buses and set-up 100+ charging stations pan-India.”
3. Mobec raises seed funding.
‘Mobile-Charging as a Service’ startup ‘Mobec Innovations’ has raised $1 million seed funding from Singapore-based Purple Stone Consulting. Mobec provides mobile EV charging services 'anytime & anywhere'. The startup is India’s 1st full-stack M-CAAS (Mobile-Charging as a Service) company.
Mobec aims to make its place in India’s expanding e-mobility ecosystem by providing access to EV charging 'on-the-go' through mobile charging solutions. The company offers a fully-integrated ultrafast EV charging experience with no fixed infrastructure. This gives EV owners the option of charging anywhere & anytime.
4. Tata Power to provide EV chargers at Jaguar Land Rover showrooms.
Tata Power will provide EV charging solutions to Jaguar Land Rover. The company will install chargers across JLR’s 27 showrooms in 24 cities across India. JLR wants to set-up chargers to provide a hassle-free charging experience for owners of the company’s 1st electric car ‘Jaguar I-PACE’, which will be launched in India very soon.
Jaguar Land Rover & Tata Power will also provide customers with EV chargers at their homes & offices.
5. MG Comet EV launched.
MG India has launched its 2nd electric car ‘MG Comet EV’. The electric micro car is designed for city commuting. It sports a 17.3 kWh battery pack which provides a range of 230 km.
As far as features are concerned, the Comet gets two 10.25-inch touchscreens (infotainment & instrument cluster), two-spoke smart steering wheel, one-touch recline passenger seats for second-row entry, reverse parking camera & sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and impact sensing door unlock system.
The electric hatchback will be available at an introductory price of Rs 7.98 lakh, making it India’s most affordable electric car. The Comet EV will compete with Tata Tiago EV (prices start at Rs 8.69 lakh) and Citroen eC3 (prices start at Rs 11.50 lakh). Test drives will begin from 27 April and bookings will start May 15 onwards.
The Comet is NOT fast-charging compatible.
For complete EV charging solutions, explore the Kazam website.
