In India, EV sales are at the nascent stage and government want it to push it with a large force to fight with the pollution and to curb the fuel-bill as well. However, one of the setbacks which the country can face with the adoption of the EV is limited charger stations. As per the data by International Energy Agency, in 2018, India had only 352 publicly access charger, and only 25 of them were fast charger. It is about 30 cars on a charger as compared to neighbor China which has 8 cars on a single charger; moreover, the ratio of fast charger is quite higher in China.
In July 2019, the government of India reduced Goods and Service Tax (GST) on EV from 12% to 5%. In April 2019, the Indian government launched the second phase of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EVs) scheme to boost the EV sales in the country. The government has allocated around $1.4 billion to boost EV sales in the country. Out of this, 10% that is around $140 million is for EV (electric vehicle) charger infrastructure. The fund is allotted for the next three financial years, with a ratio of 3:4:3. Under the scheme, the government has plan to develop 2,700 charging stations in metros, and other cities which have population more than a million with an aim of creating at least one charging station in a grid of 3 km x 3 km or 9 sq. km.
But, is it enough to fulfill the requirement of India? As an estimate, the population density is around 415 people per square kilometer. For 9 sq. km, average will be about 3,735 people. The density is much higher in the cities which have population more than a million like for Mumbai, it is around 21,000 per sq. km. Yes, there will be more charging station in the future, but at present it is doubtful that would such a less number of charging station be able to suffice the demand for chargers? Moreover, frequency of refueling is much higher for EVs as compared to an IC engine vehicle as virtually EV have to charge daily from an electric charger.
The interest of private sector is a hope for the country in EV charging infrastructure. Japanese electronics giant, Panasonic Corporation has shown interest to set up charging station in the country. In May 2019, the company has revealed the plan to set up around 1 lakh charging station for e-vehicles in 25 most populated cities by 2024 with a target to cover at least a million vehicle. The company had partnership with Tesla and planning to develop charging stations in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, including others at public places (such as petrol pumps, malls, parking lots). Another notable announcement is from Vakrangee Ltd., an Indian company which announced to set-up 75,000 EV charging ‘kendras’ by 2022. The company has plan to cover 366 districts with more than 2,100 postal codes mostly in Tier 5 and Tier 6 cities. Hence, it can be said that the government is focusing on EV whereas private companies are identifying new opportunities in EV charging infrastructure.
