Recently, Ather Energy expanded its presence in the State of Kerala. One of the reasons for the company that makes electric scooters to move in a big way into Kerala was the fact that it has high rate of EV adoption. Ather said it was also planning to set an EV charging network.
As it happens, another EV charging player, Magenta ChargeGrid, has inaugurated its first EV charger in Kerala. In a partnership with Crescendo, a store for home-need products and appliances, Magenta has set up its EV Charging unit in Kozhikode. Magenta ChargeGrid team was responsible for installation, commissioning and operations of this charger. The company plans a few more charger spots in the coming months after factoring in location, type of customer segments etc into consideration.
Magenta expanding its network
The charging station is located in a prime spot near the Kozikode beach. Installation of EV chargers in such hotspots will help to promote more EV adoption, the company said. Charger installed at this location can charge all popular electric cars with CCS2 connectors like Tata Nexon, Tata Tigor, MG ZS, Hyundai Kona, Kia EV6, BYD E6, and other high end cars that are expected to be launched in the Indian market.
Magenta ChargeGrid is currently expanding its charging network to 35-40 cities in India with the aim to set up a network of around 11,000 chargers by the end of FY 23. Magenta ChargeGrid has formed alliances with prominent electricity boards in the country (BSES, BESCOM) with the goal of establishing a stronger EV charging ecosystem. It has also tied up with municipal administrations in places like Indore, Ahmedabad, and Navi Mumbai and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation. This is in addition to its ongoing strategic tie-ups with key hotel chains such as Fern, IBIS, amongst others, to build EV charging infrastructure within cities and on highways.
Magenta has deployed over 100 electric cargo vehicles under its EVET brand in Bengaluru, in partnership with Euler Motors, with plans to deploy 1000 more in the coming months. Magenta has also tied up with Xavier Institutes (part of the Jesuit Educational Network) to install EV charging stations at their multiple educational campuses.
Magenta ChargeGrid, which was set up in 2018, has been developing EV solutions which are ‘Made in India’ and made for Indian weather conditions and usage. Under the three business verticals, (Magenta ChargeGrid chargers as a product, charging as a service (ChargeGrid) and eMobility (EVET), it provides integrated solutions for EVs. It is seed-funded by HPCL & incubated by Shell, and is also backed by the Microsoft Startup Program.
