1. Germany-based Webasto introduces EV chargers.

German company ‘Webasto’, known mainly for manufacturing car sunroofs, has announced introduction of electromobility solutions in the Indian market. The company has tied up with ESY India to bring its EV chargers to the country. Webasto has a portfolio of EV chargers including Webasto Pure, Webasto Next & Webasto Unite which offer configurable charging capacity up to 22 kW. The company’s Charging Management System ‘Webasto ChargeConnect’ allows you to control & manage the charging network conveniently via an app and a website. ESY India will also be launching an app for customer support.

2. Hotel chain 'Sun-N-Sand' to install charging points at its hotels.

Luxury hotel chain ‘Sun-n-Sand’ has joined hands with EV charging startup ‘Greenie Energy’ to set up 20 charging points at its hotels in Mumbai & Shirdi. Greenie Energy's most popular offering is a hardware solution which converts a regular electric socket into an EV charging point. This can then be operated using Greenie's mobile app.

3. Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur invests in EV charging company.

Sona Comstar Chairman Sunjay Kapur has invested an undisclosed amount through his family office in EV charging startup Sunfuel Electric. Sunfuel has agreements with luxury hotel chains and hospitality firms including Radisson, IHG Hotels, ITC Hotels and Club Mahindra, to provide destination charging facility across hotels & resorts. Sunjay Kapur gave a statement: “It is evidently clear that the preference of car buyers in India is shifting to EVs over the past few years. This investment is my personal endeavour towards creating world-class charging infrastructure.” Sunjay Kapur is the Chairman of Sona Comstar, a global automotive components manufacturer & supplier. One of the co-founders of Sunfuel Electric is actress Gul Panag.

4. EV charging provisions in Tamil Nadu’s new EV policy.

Tamil Nadu state government has announced its new electric vehicle policy and it includes incentives for manufacturing EVs & its components, subsidies for commercial electric two, three & four-wheelers, electric buses and e-rickshaws, special concession for EV charging stations and retrofitting of vehicles from petrol/diesel to electric. The TN state government will prioritise setting-up charging stations on national & state highways at every 25 km distance. The policy also includes electricity tariff incentives for public charging stations. This involves a reduction of existing charges by 75% for the first two years and by 50% for the next two years. The state shall see reduction of charges by 50% between 8 AM and 4 PM to incentivize charging during non-peak hours and promote usage of renewable energy (solar energy) for EV charging. The government will also offer incentives of up to Rs 10 lakh for 200 fast-charging stations and Rs 1 lakh for 500 slow-charging stations.

5. Karnataka state government aims to convert all diesel buses to electric by 2030.

During the presentation of Karnataka state government’s 2023-24 budget on February 17, the Chief Minister mentioned an aim to convert all diesel buses deployed in the state to electric by 2030. The state has allocated Rs 500 crore for procurement of 1200 electric buses. Karnataka State Road Transport Corp (KSRTC) has plans to induct 50 electric buses branded as ‘EV Power Plus’ and deploying them on busy routes including Bengaluru to Mysuru, Madikeri, Shivamogga & Chikkamagaluru. The state government also plans to use ‘Green Tax’ collections to install EV charging points in government offices and road transport bus depots. Karnataka's move to allocate Rs 500 crore to various state transport undertakings will give a much-needed boost to electric bus manufacturers.

For complete EV charging solutions, explore the Kazam website.