1. Tata Motors collaborates with Hindustan Petroleum to set-up EV charging stations.
Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (the EV arm of Tata Motors) has joined hands with Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) to set-up 5000 EV charging stations across India by the end of 2024. The collaboration will leverage HPCL’s widespread petrol pump network and Tata’s insights from over 1.2 lakh Tata Motors electric cars on Indian roads, to set up EV chargers.
Tata Motors & HPCL are also working on introducing a payment system via a co-branded RFID card. With four EVs in its portfolio, Tata Motors has steered the rise of the electric vehicle ecosystem in India. The company also recently inaugurated its first EV-exclusive showroom in Gurugram (Haryana). Hindustan Petroleum so far has installed more than 3000 EV charging stations, including battery swap stations, at its fuel pumps across the country.
2. Contract manufacturing marketplace ZETWERK wins order for 1400 EV chargers from Indian Oil.
ZETWERK, a managed marketplace for contract manufacturing, has bagged an order from Indian Oil (IOCL) to set-up 1400 EV fast-chargers across the country.
ZETWERK will set up 1400 EV chargers with capacities of 50-60 kW & 100-120 kW. These will be dual gun chargers capable of charging two EVs simultaneously (with a dynamic load-sharing mode). The company released a statement after winning the order: "ZETWERK has secured an order from Indian Oil Corporation Limited to set-up EV fast chargers across India through competitive bidding which was participated by more than 40 leading EV suppliers across the country."
3. India-bound Kia EV9 electric SUV wins Best Car & Best EV Of The Year.
Kia won the Best Car as well as the Best Electric Vehicle of the Year awards for its EV9 electric SUV at the World Car Awards 2024. The Kia EV9 made its world debut in 2023 and is currently on sale in the US, Europe & South Korea. The World Car Awards were held alongside the 2024 New York Auto Show.
The Kia EV9 is expected to arrive in India later this year. Last month, a test mule of the same was spotted on Indian roads.
Internationally, the EV9 is offered with 2 battery options: 76.1 kWh battery pack which has a range of 358km and 99.8 kWh battery pack which has a range of 541km.
4. Ather to unveil its new Rizta electric scooter and Halo smart helmet on April 6.
Ather is set to host its Community Day event on April 6 in Bengaluru. The company has confirmed the launch of its new Rizta electric scooter at the event. Pre-bookings for the scooter have already begun (at Rs 999).
There is little information about the specs of the Ather Rizta. As far as the design is concerned, it will feature a large seat, a large floorboard and a large storage space. The scooter will not have on-board speakers, as this feature will move on to the Halo helmet. Along with the scooter, the company will also introduce this Halo smart helmet at the event. The helmet will reportedly offer a ‘holistic’ Ather experience.
The Ather Rizta electric scooter is the company’s 1st family scooter and will be the event's main attraction. It will be a larger scooter compared to the company’s 450 series. The upcoming scooter will compete with TVS iQube, the only electric scooter in the Indian market which is on the larger side.
5. Kinetic Green hands over 130 units of E-Luna for last-mile delivery services.
Kinetic Green delivered 130 units of the E-Luna electric mopeds in Pune, to Safe and Secure Delivery Solutions, the official delivery partner of BigBasket. Sulajja Firodia Motwani, CEO of Kinetic Green, gave a statement: "This collaboration with Safe and Secure Delivery Solutions is a testament to the E-Luna's versatility and its ability to cater to diverse needs. We are excited to be a part of Big Basket's sustainable delivery journey. We are working on many similar opportunities, and expect an order book of around 50,000 E-Lunas to be deployed for the last-mile delivery segment during 2024-25."
Kinetic Green claims the E-Luna has a running cost of 10 paise per kilometre along with a payload of up to 150kg. The iconic Luna brand made a comeback recently with the launch of E-Luna. The electric moped is offered in two variants: X1 and X2. The X1 is priced at Rs 69,990 and features a 1.7 kWh battery with a claimed range of 80 km. The X2 is priced at Rs 74,990 and features a 2 kWh battery with a claimed range of 110 km. It takes 4 hours to fully charge the vehicle.
Kinetic Green has also launched a special corporate program called ‘E-Luna Fleets' to provide the Kinetic E-Luna to e-commerce players with value-added services including an IT platform called ‘KG Konnect’ for services like real-time GPS tracking, vehicle performance diagnostics, an extended warranty of five years and partnerships for financing, charging & battery swapping. Kinetic Green has a network of over 350 dealerships across the country for sales, service & spares support to its customers.
For complete EV charging solutions, explore the Kazam website.
