In a big boost to electric mobility in India, Hero MotoCorp and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) have collaborated to set up charging infrastructure for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) across the country.
Aligned with its Vision to “Be the Future of Mobility” and with its aim to drive the growth of EVs, Hero MotoCorp has become the first automotive OEM to tie up with the leading Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to set up charging infrastructure across the length and breadth of India, the company said in a statement on Tuesday (22 February).
Earlier in September last year, Bharat Petroleum had announced that it was converting 7,000 conventional retail outlets into energy stations providing multiple fueling options, which will include EV charging facility also, in the medium to long term.
According to the statement, the two companies will first establish a substantial charging infrastructure at the existing nationwide energy station network and subsequently may broaden the collaboration to develop more synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, thereby enabling prospects throughout the customer life cycle.
In the first phase, charging stations will be set up across nine cities starting with Delhi and Bengaluru. The network will be then expanded across the country with the aim to establish a high density of charging stations.
Hero MotoCorp will soon commence the infrastructure development in the two cities, the statement said.
Each charging station will feature multiple charging points including DC and AC chargers and will be available for use to all two-wheeled EVs.
The entire user charging experience will be controlled by a Hero MotoCorp Mobile-App and will be a cashless transaction model, the statement said.
The massive Bharat Petroleum energy station network will also provide accelerated opportunities to expand the scope of operations and services, it added.
The statement further added that the companies may utilise the gateways created to make additional investments into building a robust EV ecosystem.