Consolidation will take place in EV industry: ChargeEZ

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) charging startup ChargeEZ is building an EV park and charge platform that allows consumers and businesses to access EV charging wherever they go. The EV industry will consolidate in both the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the EV charging segment going forward, says its Co-founder & COO Prashant Chandrasekaran, in an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz.

What are the current trends and latest developments in the EV industry?

The Government of India's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME I and II policies) along with the initiatives in simplifying plug-in charging regulations as well as the newly proposed battery swapping policy have the potential to significantly accelerate the rate of growth of the industry.

These trends have been accumulating in pace in recent years and the high oil prices and greater awareness of clean mobility have provided a tipping point for acceleration in the EV adoption. As the industry grows, players with a strong foundation in technology capability are more likely to succeed while several industry players who are looking at just riding the wave with purely imported solutions are likely to fall by the way side.

This is already starting to be evident in the EV OEM space with the fire incidents in recent months and the greater awareness of safety and reliability. These trends will consolidate in both the OEM and the EV charging segment going forward.

How is the journey of ChargeEZ so far?

ChargeEZ evolved from the vision of ValetEZ to build India's largest EV charging platform leveraging its strong presence in smart parking around the country. ChargeEZ is leveraging our capabilities in a strong and stable IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud platform built for smart digitised parking. We are currently rolling out ChargeEZ Lite which enables regular AC charging for EVs (mainly two and three wheelers) and will soon roll out fast charging solutions as well for two wheelers (2W) and cars (4W). Our current roll-out begins from Bengaluru and will then expand to around a dozen odd cities, including Hyderabad, where ValetEZ is already present.

What are the future plans of the brand for 2022?

We've started rolling out our charging stations focused on 2W and 3W EV charging to begin with and also planning to come up with fast charging solutions for 4W as well. As mentioned, our current roll-out is focused on Bengaluru and will then expand to other cities where ValetEZ is already present via its smart parking network. Parking lots everywhere are ideal places to charge EVs and we are well placed to leverage this through our existing presence in hundreds of parking spaces.

What are the challenges that the industry is facing right now and what needs immediate attention by the government?

The key challenge for the industry remains the availability of EV charging infrastructure. This will be key to ensuring that consumers are confident that they can use their EVs wherever they go. The government has already taken multiple initiatives in supporting plug-in charging and now has proposed to develop a battery swapping policy that encourages interoperability.

More initiatives could be looked at in terms of electricity charges for dedicated EV stations and incentives for startups who are designing, doing R&D and manufacturing EV charging solutions in India, could lower costs and support faster adoption. This will also encourage serious players who will address safety and reliability, issues which have emerged to the fore in the last couple of months.

Could you let us know more about the EZ application?

'EZ' application is our app for users to find and access EV charging stations as well as parking spaces around the city. The app is accessible to users via QR Codes and SMSes every time any user accesses one of our digitised parking spaces or EV charging stations anywhere in the network. EZ app can be saved on your phone just like a regular app.

Across parking and charging, we've already catered to over 1.5 lakh users who've used the EZ app in this year alone.