EV leaders to address charging and swapping infrastructure challenges

By Staff Report January 4, 2025 12:45 pm IST

Stakeholders from the electric vehicle (EV) sector met with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the development of battery charging and swapping infrastructure. The meeting included officials from the Department of Heavy Industries and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

Stakeholders from the electric vehicle (EV) sector held deliberations with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on various issues, including the development of battery charging and swapping infrastructure.

Officials from the Department of Heavy Industries and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) also attended the meeting, and representatives from Tata, TVS, and Mercedes-Benz India participated in the deliberations. The interaction was on the development of battery charging and swapping infrastructure. Were certain issues raised on the location of swapping stations and charging infrastructure and standards?

An advisor from Tesla and representatives from luxury car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi also attended the meet.

In an effort to entice global EV makers to invest in the country, the government implemented an electric vehicle policy in March of last year, offering duty reductions to companies that set up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million.

India’s electric vehicle (EV) market is expected to reach one crore units annually by 2030, creating five crore jobs, according to the Survey 2022-23. In 2022, EV sales in India were around 10 lakh units, attracting global attention.

The government plans to install 10,763 public charging stations under the FAME-II scheme, while the PM E-DRIVE scheme supports electric mobility through support for 14,028 e-buses, 205,392 e-3 wheelers, 110,596 e-rickshaws, e-carts, and 2,479,120 e-2 wheelers.

In addition, e-trucks, e-ambulances, EV public charging stations, and upgrading of testing agencies are also supported under the scheme.