Tata To Set Up 300 Fast Chargers By Mid-2020 As It Readies For EV Roll Out

Most charging stations to be concentrated in five key metropolitan cities

Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors is taking initiative in the push for electric mobility and has announced its plans to set up charging facilities across the country.

Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors is taking initiative in the push for electric mobility and has announced its plans to set up charging facilities across the country. Working together with Tata Power, Tata Motors will be installing 300 fast chargers by the end of financial year 2020. These new chargers will be concentrated in five key cities - Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. The announcement was made as Tata inaugurated its first seven charging stations in Pune with 45 new charges to be installed in the other four cities over the coming months. The chargers will be operated by Tata Power and will be installed not only at Tata Group retail outlets and Tata Motor dealerships but at other public locations too. Tata currently covers 13 cities across nine states with 85 operational charging points. The first 50 new chargers will adhere to the Bharat Standard, rated at 15kW. Tata intends to offer charging stations that adhere to 30-50kW DC Combined Charging Station 2 (CCS2) Standard too. Chargers that adhere to the CCS2 Standard will make it possible for all EV users to reap the benefits of the upcoming infrastructure as long as their models are compatible. The Hyundai Kona Electric and the upcoming MG eZS electric SUVs offer 50kW CCS 2 DC fast charging, which means their users could charge up at Tata’s EV stations. Understandably, Tata will be offering incentives to those who buy Tata EVs by letting them recharge their vehicle’s battery for free for the first three months. After all, it was recently announced that Tata plans to launch four new electric cars in India over the next 12 to 18 months. As of now, Tata only has the Tigor EV, which is only available for commercial use. However, it is expected to go on sale for private users soon with the range set to be increased to around 200km. The next EVs expected from Tata are the Altroz EV and Nexon EV though the sequence of launch is not yet known. But both are a while away with an expected arrival around mid-2020.