- Signs MOU with Chargezone, Glida, Statiq, and Zeon
Mumbai, 11 December, 2023: Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. (TPEM), pioneers of India’s EV revolution, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading charge point operators (CPOs), Chargezone, Glida, Statiq, and Zeon, to further develop India’s charging infrastructure. This MoU crucially builds on the significant existing presence of each operator in the charging ecosystem and TPEM’s unique telematics insights basis more than 1.15 lakh Tata EVs on Indian roads. TPEM will actively assist the four CPOs in installing chargers at locations most frequented by its EV owners and share insights on how the chargers are being used to help understand and enhance customer experience.
Chargezone, Glida (formerly known as Fortum Charge & Drive India), Statiq, and Zeon are leading CPOs in the country, with a combined network of nearly 2,000 charging points across key cities. The robust charging ecosystem built by these operators forms the backbone upon which India’s transition to sustainable mobility is already happening. Through this collaboration, the CPOs intend to roll out over 10,000 additional charging points within the next 12-15 months.
Through this MoU, TPEM will also work with Chargezone, Glida, Statiq, and Zeon to explore the possibility to roll-out a smart payment gateway through co-branded RFID cards respectively, that will enable ease of payment for Tata EV users. Furthermore, customers can avail benefits of loyalty programs from these respective CPOs and access a dedicated customer care number for any assistance.
Speaking at the MoU signing, Mr. Balaje Rajan, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., said, “EV adoption is a national imperative to address urban pollution, and convenient charging infrastructure is a key enabler for driving faster EV adoption. The need of the hour for accelerating a nationwide charging ecosystem is open collaboration, and we are delighted to announce our strategic collaboration with Chargezone, Glida, Statiq, and Zeon, to accelerate India’s journey towards e-mobility. This collaboration will benefit from TPEM’s unparalleled EV usage insights, coupled with the CPOs’ innovative charging solutions and entrepreneurial spirit, and create 10,000+ additional charging points in the country by FY25.”
Global case studies consistently demonstrate how widespread and easily accessible charging infrastructure is a crucial element of the EV ecosystem. The expansion of charging infrastructure has been shown to lead to a significant increase in the adoption of EVs. This innovative open collaboration between major CPOs and TPEM is anticipated to expedite the development of charging infrastructure in the nation, thereby playing a pivotal role in making EV adoption more widespread.
Since inception, TPEM has been maintaining a close collaboration with Tata Power to develop charging infrastructure, resulting in over 4,900 public chargers across the country. Furthermore, the two companies also launched the EZ Charge Card – a RFID card which allows customers to initiate charging with a tap. In addition to this, an open collaboration with BPCL aims to set up 7,000 chargers over the next year.
Commenting on the MoU, Kartikey Hariyani, Founder and CEO, CHARGE ZONE, said, “With the industry witnessing a high-growth phase of electric mobility, we have been working with automotive OEMs for strategic partnerships and a collaborative approach towards building reliable high speed charging infrastructure. Our collaboration with Tata Motors now signals the intent to provide a seamless experience to the EV users of various ranges of electric cars including Nexon.ev, Tigor EV, Tiago.ev and the upcoming models from its stable.”
Commenting on the MoU, Awadhesh Kumar Jha, Executive Director, GLIDA, said, “Glida and TPEM collaboration comes at an opportune moment, enabling an accelerated EV adoption in India. The partnership opens up opportunities for further enhancing charging infrastructure at favourable customer touch points, increasing reach on highway and city centres, convenient discovery & status of charging infrastructure on EV dashboard, thus putting ‘customer experience’ at the core of this partnership. We are hopeful both Glida and TPEM would strive harder together to meet EV users requirements and provision charging and associated service delivery of the highest standards.”
Commenting on the MoU, Raghav Arora, Co-Founder & CTO, Statiq, said, “At Statiq, we share common values with TPEM – a dedication to quality, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. This partnership represents more than just a business tie-up; it’s a testament to our shared vision for the future of mobility. Together, we aim to redefine the EV landscape, introducing cutting-edge technologies and pioneering solutions that will shape the industry for years to come.”
Commenting on the MoU, Karthikeyan KP, MD & CEO, Zeon Charging, said, “At Zeon Charging we believe that it is not just enough have chargers, but it is more important to have charging stations that customers can rely upon. Today we are very excited to announce our partnership with TPEM. TPEM has led the nation’s charge in EVs, and in-essence has made our existence relevant. Our collaboration would help us build a charging ecosystem that is convenient, comprehensive, and relevant EV owners. And most importantly our association would help build a network that EV owners can count on. There are extensive insights that TPEM as a leading EV OEM can bring to this partnership to help Zeon build a robust EV charging ecosystem. As a leading charge point operator our insights and data on charging behaviors and patterns wound prove invaluable to help TPEM enhance their products and customer experience. Together we are Energizing India’s Transition to Sustainable Mobility.”
