Hero MotoCorp Limited will work with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to build charging stations for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) across the country.
This news comes several months after MD and chairman Pawan Munjal explained the roadmap for India’s leading two-wheeler company in FY22 to CNBC-TV18 that included plans for charging infrastructure.
Hero MotoCorp has become the first automotive “Original Equipment Manufacturer” or OEM to partner with a major public utility to provide charging infrastructure across the country.
Regarding the new collaboration, Munjal said: “Sustainability has been a key pillar of growth within the Hero MotoCorp global ecosystem. Now, with our Vision ‘Be the Future of Mobility’ we are aggressively advancing our initiatives towards the technologies and solutions that will empower all individuals, societies and industries to contribute towards the planet’s environmental targets.”
“The partnership with BPCL, which is already at the forefront of customer energy solutions, will be beneficial for both the EV segment and customers. This collaboration will also unlock opportunities for asset allocation and expansion in the future,” he added.
Both the companies will first build a significant charging infrastructure at the existing nationwide energy station network. Later, they are expected to expand this collaboration to create more synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, allowing prospects to be served throughout their entire customer life cycle.
Charging stations will be installed in nine cities in the first phase. This operation will begin with two metro cities, Delhi and Bengaluru. The network will then be expanded across the country to create a dense network of charging stations.
The two-wheeler giant will shortly begin developing infrastructure in both locations. All of its EVs will be able to use the charging stations, which will include charging options like DC and AC chargers.
A Hero MotoCorp smartphone app will manage the entire user charging experience, which will be a cashless transaction, while the BPCL energy station network will allow the company to grow its operations and services more quickly.
BPCL CMD Arun Kumar Singh said: “Our alliance with Hero MotoCorp, a leader in the two-wheeler industry and with a fine penchant for innovation, is, therefore, an extremely strategic step towards ushering in an era of best-in-class EV charging solutions for our customers in our Energy Stations and an exciting future of innovative solutions in the EV sector.”
Last year in August, Munjal told CNBC-TV18 that his company was preparing to launch its own electric two-wheeler in the FY22. He also noted that the company has plans to offer not only electric vehicles, but also an ecosystem that includes its own charging stations, Ather Energy’s charging grid and Taiwan-based Gogoro’s battery swapping stations.
“Hero will be open to offering charging infrastructure to multiple players in the future. Once volumes grow, it makes imminent sense for many of us to pool investments and give comfort to consumers,” said Munjal.
As the popularity of electric vehicles is booming in India, consumers have raised a major concern regarding the lack of charging infrastructure in the country.
Apart from this partnership, Hero MotoCorp’s rival, Vijay Munjal and son Naveen Munjal owned Hero Electric, also has announced earlier that by the end of 2022, it will install 20,000 electric vehicles charging stations across India, anticipating an increase in customer demand for charging infrastructure.
Similarly, eBikeGo, which is one of India’s largest smart electric two-wheeler mobility platforms, earlier said that it will install 1 lakh smart IoT-enabled charging stations in seven Indian cities.
Additionally, according to reports from last December, Ola Electric, the newbie in the electric two-wheeler market, was exploring options to build infrastructure for charging batteries.
Then, the Bengaluru-based company was also talking to BPCL for a partnership to install its rapid chargers— hyperchargers— at gas stations across the country.
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