Ali Pardiwala | 13 Feb 2025 03:53 PM
Tata Motors is making big moves into the EV space, with a growing and diverse range of electric vehicles available in India across different prices and car segments. However, according to the car maker, there's still a fair bit of resistance among vehicle owners in switching from traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to EVs, largely because of concerns around charging the vehicles. Tata's solution to this is to therefore boost public charging infrastructure, which will benefit not only Tata EV owners but even those buying EVs from other brands.
As per Tata Motors, there is already a robust and widespread public EV charging network across the country, with 85 percent of the national highway network having a public charger within a 50km radius. Interestingly, there are more than twice as many public chargers across India as CNG filling stations, and twice as many home chargers set up as petrol pumps in India.
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However, EV adoption is still held back by charging concerns, which have a lot to do with the time taken to charge, and availability and reliability of the charging stations themselves. To help improve visibility and adoption, as well as benefit Tata EV owners, the company is partnering with a few major public charging operators to introduce Tata EV 'Mega Charger' stations across India, with support for up to 120kW fast charging for all EVs.
Interestingly, these public charging stations will be open to all EV owners to use, and not just Tata EV owners. That said, Tata's investment in the infrastructure will be passed on to Tata EV owners in the form of priority charging slots and appointments, as well as preferential tarriffs on charging with discounts of up to 25 percent. Most EVs (four wheelers) in India use the CCS2 charging standard, so compatibility won't be an issue.
Tata 'Mega Charger' stations will be launched in collaboration with Tata Power EZ Charge, ChargeZone, Statiq, and Zeon - four major public charging aggregators who operate public charging stations for EVs across India. The company plans to focus on big cities for the initial push, strategically positioning public charging stations in locations such as malls, office parks, and commercial neighbourhoods. Major highways and expressways will also be in focus for the initial rollout.
For Tata EV owners, the IRA app will also feature the ability to locate and rate public chargers, including the Mega Charger network. Tata will also be rolling out wallet-based payment systems for integrated chargers, designed to make the charging experience easier.