1. Reliance-BP pushing hard to become top mobility solutions provider.

Reliance BP Mobility Ltd, the joint venture between Reliance Industries and British oil & gas major ‘BP’, is pushing hard to become the country’s leading provider of mobility solutions. The joint venture is rebranding its 1460 fuel outlets and plans to set up a network of outlets that will offer fuels, CNG, EV charging & refreshments. The company has plans to offer more low carbon solutions in future.

The company, also called ‘Jio-BP’, aims to expand from its current network of 1460 outlets to 5500.

At present, Jio-BP has 300 charging points across the country, which includes on-the-go charging stations, cluster charging stations & fleet charging hubs.

2. CESL plans 800 EV charging stations across 16 national highways.

Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) announced the setting up of 800 new EV charging stations which will cover around 10,000 km of the country’s national highway network. The 16 national highways where these stations will be set up have been finalized. Some of them are: Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Delhi-Agra Yamuna Expressway, Ahmedabad-Vadodara Highway, Agra-Nagpur Highway among others. The charging stations are expected to be functional in the next 6-8 months.

The main aim of this move is to help reduce range anxiety among EV owners who are skeptical about long drives on electric cars. The charging stations will cater to both electric cars and electric commercial vehicles. CESL will use the PPP model for this project.

3. New Google Maps update to provide separate navigation features for petrol, diesel, hybrid & electric vehicles.

Google Maps is planning to tailor the route as per the type of vehicle you are driving. The new update will ask users the type of vehicle they are using: petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid. Then Google Maps will tailor the route according to that vehicle type. The display will show the best route that will allow the user to save the most fuel or energy. At present, the update is under development. Beta testing will start soon.

Currently, Google Maps in India offers routes according to multiple modes of transport like 4 wheelers, 2 wheelers, bus, etc. This new edition, when launched, will take into consideration different scenarios. For instance, sometimes taking a longer route which has less traffic can be faster and more efficient than taking a shorter route riddled with traffic jam. Reports also indicate that Google Maps could highlight routes with EV charging stations along the way for electric vehicles.

4. BEST to set up 330 public EV charging stations in Mumbai.

BEST has announced plans to install 330 public EV charging stations in Mumbai. Charging stations will be set up at the 27 BEST charging depots across Mumbai. Work on setting up these stations has already commenced. The stations will be used for charging BEST’s electric buses and can be used by general public as well. BEST is looking to increase its electric bus fleet to serve the expanding Mumbai Metro rail network. BEST GM Lokesh Chandra said, “Metro & bus services will be complementary. The metro can take you till its station, but the last mile connectivity will be provided by buses.”

5. Hyderabad Airport gets EV charging facility.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad has installed an EV charging station at the airport’s car parking. A bio-diesel filling station has also been installed. The charging station is a 30kW fast charging station.

Novotel Hotel (Hyderabad), located on Hyderabad Airport road, also has an EV charging station at the property’s basement.

6. Marriott installs EV charging points at 2 properties.

ChargeZone has installed EV fast charging points at Marriott Hotel in Juhu (Mumbai) and at Marriott Mahabaleshwar. These chargers are compatible with electric four-wheelers. The installed chargers are 60kW DC fast chargers (CCS 2), which can charge two e-cars simultaneously.

In April 2022, Marriott and ChargeZone joined hands to install 100 EV chargers at Marriott properties across the country.

ChargeZone has also partnered with Surat Municipal Corporation to install 25 charging stations across Surat.

For complete EV charging solutions, explore the Kazam website.