Oil marketing companies (OMCs), which until two years ago saw a bright future in fossil fuels, are readying expansion plans for the electric vehicle (EV) segment. The pandemic has changed the business environment, forcing them to accelerate plans in the EV charging segment.
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), the largest refiner and marketer, has installed 257 EV charging stations at its retail outlets and is planning another 1,800 stations this fiscal. IOCL, which has tied up with Israel’s Phinergy, is working on an aluminum air battery technology.
Last week, Reliance BP Mobility Ltd (RBML), a joint venture between Reliance Industries and BP Plc, partnered with food delivery platform Swiggy to deploy electric vehicles in its fleet on a pilot basis.
The partnership is aimed at promoting the adoption of battery-operated electric vehicles, including deployment of electric two-wheelers, that will be supported by a network of battery swap stations and Swiggy’s network of delivery partners. RBML owns 1,400 fuel outlets and plans to grow it to 5,000.
Over the past few months, state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has tied up with three entities—Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), Tata Power and Magenta EV Systems—for facilitating setting up of charging infrastructure at its retail outlets.
According to Morgan Stanley Research, India reached 1% two-wheeler EV penetration in July, which it expects to grow to 10% by 2025.
Reference- Live Mint, Economic Times, Mercom India, Business Standard, The Financial Express