1. Zen Mobility launches 2 new variants of its Micro Pod EV.

Zen Mobility has introduced two new variants of its flagship Zen Micro Pod: Micro Pod ThermoFlex & Micro Pod LoadMax. The Micro Pod ThermoFlex can function as a mobile refrigerator/freezer, and be used to supply frozen food items, fresh fruits & vegetables, dairy products and pharma products (like vaccines), ensuring a consistent cold chain.The Micro Pod LoadMax consists of a large box designed to handle big e-commerce shipments, appliance/electronics deliveries & other large-sized cargo. Zen Mobility has come up with these two variants after extensive customer feedback & insights from multiple e-commerce & FMCG companies and have developed these EVs for improved productivity in fleet operations.

Both new variants will come with features like telematics, IoT integration, geo-fencing with remote vehicle locking & battery state-of-charge (SoC) tracking. The Zen ThermoFlex & LoadMax take around 2 hours to fully charge. Both will be available at Zen Mobility’s dealership network, spread over 12 cities including Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai & Kolkata. All Zen Mobility products come with flexible financing options and lease & rental plans.

2. RevFin launches an EV promotion initiative in Uttar Pradesh.

Digital lending platform RevFin, launched an initiative called 'Jagriti Yatra Abhiyaan' in Uttar Pradesh to promote EV adoption in the state. The initiative aims to support UP's quest of achieving 100% EV usage in state government departments by 2030 & set-up a sustainable e-mobility ecosystem. The event was held at Taj Hotel in Lucknow on 26 June and RevFin engaged with industry leaders. The company will partner with leading EV companies like Bajaj Auto, Bounce Infinity, Kinetic Green, etc to rapidly scale its electric vehicle campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

The company aims to disburse loans of Rs 3000 crore across various cities in UP by 2027. The 'Jagriti Yatra Abhiyaan' will focus on cities including Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Basti, Deoria, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri & Bareilly. In the next 2 months, marketing campaigns will be run in these cities to raise awareness and promote EVs as a viable option for last-mile & mid-mile deliveries.

3. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduces 2 new EV safety standards.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has introduced two new safety standards for electric vehicles. The two new standards: IS 18590: 2024 & IS 18606: 2024 focus on safety & quality of critical components used in EVs. The new standards will be applicable on electric two-wheelers, electric four-wheelers & electric trucks.

The new standards focus on battery safety and charging infrastructure safety (including charging station design). With the latest additions, BIS now has a total of 30 standards dedicated to EV and its components, including charging systems. Previously, the bureau had introduced a standardized EV charging protocol.

4. India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) proposes lower GST rates on EV charging infra in new budget.

The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has called upon the central government to lower GST rates on batteries, EV charging & battery swapping infra. The IESA will organize the India Energy Storage Week (IESW) 2024 in New Delhi from July 1-5. At a pre-launch event, the alliance proposed the expansion of the PLI scheme for battery raw materials processing industry, support for battery recycling initiatives & collaboration with global partners to secure essential raw materials.

In a statement, IESA President Dr Rahul Walawalkar stated that the current GST rate on lithium-ion batteries is 18% and on other batteries is 28%. The alliance wants all batteries to come under the 18% GST bracket. GST on EV charging & battery swapping services should be reduced to 5% or 18% from the current 28%.

5. ElectroRide joins hands with Battery Smart to install battery swapping infrastructure.

Goenka Green owned multibrand EV platform ‘ElectroRide’ has partnered with battery swapping solutions company ‘Battery Smart’, to set-up battery swapping stations at 2500 locations across the country, in the next 5 years. In the 1st phase of this partnership, Battery Smart will install 50 battery swapping stations at ElectroRide stores across Delhi & Uttar Pradesh. ElectroRide is working on deploying 30,000 EVs with battery swapping functionality.

ElectroRide offers a variety of products including electric two & three-wheelers, and is working towards developing an EV charging infrastructure across the country. The company has a strong footprint in North India and aims to expand its reach in the southern part of India in the next 5 years.

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