India’s OMCs now offer nearly 26,000 chargers
According to local media, only 5,817 of these stations were paid for through the country’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme. The OMCs, namely Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, paid for the remaining 20,035 stations themselves. In 2021, BPCL and other oil companies in India pledged to install 22,000 EV charging stations by 2026.
Just an example: At the beginning of the year, Lubi Industries was awarded a major contract by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to manufacture, supply, install, and commission 1,400 fast DC chargers across India. And in 2024, BPCL awarded Servotech Power Systems a significant order of 1,800 EV chargers.
Moreover, last summer, India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) announced 5,833 charging stations along Indian highways – which would be built by the above-mentioned companies.
Most stations (2,901 units) are located in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Tamil Nadu with 2,434, and Maharashtra with 2,010 units. The Hindu Business Line reports that Indian Oil is responsible for setting up more than half of the OMC’s charging network.
Despite the milestone and OMCs continuing to install EV infrastructure, EV uptake in the country can apparently not keep up. “The infrastructure is expanding, but the footfall at these charging stations is still not at the expected levels. Many stations are operating at low utilisation rates,” an official from an Oil Marketing Company told the Hindu Business Line. At the same time, there is only one public charger per 135 electric cars nationwide.
Other companies are also expanding their charging networks. In February, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, said it plans to double the number of charging points in India to 400,000 by 2027. The goal is to create a ‘Tata.ev Mega Charger’ network in main cities and highways.
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