Tata Motors partners with Bharat Petroleum to set up 7,000 charging stations

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., the electric mobility arm of Tata Motors. has announced a collaboration with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and a fully integrated Maharatna Energy Company to set up charging stations for electric vehicles across the country. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see BPCL install over 7,000 charging stations at its outlets across India.

The collaboration will leverage BPCL’s 21,000-strong fuel station network along with insights from Tata Motors’ over 1.15 lakh electric vehicles on the road to set up the charging stations at locations frequently visited by Tata EV owners. Additionally, BPCL will gather insights on charger usage to improve the customer experience. Both companies are also exploring the possibility of introducing a more convenient payment system through a co-branded RFID card, which should make payment easier for Tata EV users.

BPCL said that it plans to install the 7,000 EV chargers by next year. The company is working on setting up over 90 EV fast charging stations on highway corridors, which promises fast charging every 100 km on both sides of major highways. BPCL said these corridors span more than 30,000 km across various highways across the country.

BPCL is also setting up 90 fast chargers every 100 km on major highway corridors on both sides for better accessibility to EV owners

Speaking about the collaboration, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, “EV adoption is a key imperative to combat the deteriorating air quality in Indian cities. Wide-spread and reliable charging infrastructure will be a key catalyst for accelerating EV adoption in India. In line with our commitment to developing the charging ecosystem in India, we are delighted to announce our strategic collaboration with BPCL, which is aimed at accelerating India’s journey towards e-mobility. This collaborative partnership epitomizes our shared vision of fostering positive change - an enabling infrastructure for the growing EV customer base. It will benefit from TPEM’s unparalleled EV usage insights and BPCL’s formidable nationwide network. It has the potential to reshape the landscape of charging infrastructure in the country."

Santosh Kumar, Executive Director In-charge Retail at BPCL, said, “BPCL is constantly striving to align with the nation’s vision to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. BPCL steadily moving closer to the goal of converting 7000 of our conventional retail outlets into energy stations which is a part of a comprehensive decarbonization strategy to support and prioritize sustainable initiatives. BPCL has already set up a very large network of fast charging stations across highways. EV is a field of collaboration and we believe that joining hands with TPEM shall take the EV game of BPCL and TPEM to the next level."

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Tata Motors commands a leading 71 per cent market share in India’s electric passenger vehicle segment. The automaker has over 115,000 EVs on the road and says that over 75 per cent are used as primary vehicles. Tata’s electric vehicle range comprises the Tiago EV, Tigor EV and Nexon EV. The latter arrived with a comprehensive update earlier this year. It also supplies the Tigor EV for fleet operations.