ChargeEZ’s take on EV charging and the evolving EV infrastructure in India
Seeing the developments in the EV sector and with the infrastructure and technology coming in, multiple players have entered the market. ChargeEZ, a destination EV charging platform based out of Bangalore, works towards providing EV solutions across the city. The brand’s mission is to make EV charging easy and reliable to access for consumers and businesses. It envisions cities with efficient parking and charging solutions and vehicle users with no pain in finding the same.
In a discussion with CXOToday, Mr. Smit Kant Raturi, Co-Founder of ChargeEZ, expressed his thoughts on the Indian EV industry.
Q1. How has the journey of ChargeEZ been so far?
Answer. ChargeEZ is an EV charging platform that is focused on providing smart charging solutions for 2W and 4W across cities. Our basic philosophy is around destination charging. ChargeEZ is a part of ValetEZ which has been in the market for 5 years ago and we have built a digital IOT platform for digital parking slots and used our existing presence in parking to deploy our chargers in Bangalore. ChargeEZ was started earlier this year and our expertise lies in being able to build very strong hardware and software tech and our pedigree lies in the fact that we are able to build this in high manner safety and bring user convenience and virtue of being a destination charging solution. We design and build our own charger and provide smart charging systems with an application and – we are getting requests from other states/cities in India and look to expand there soon.
Q2. What future do you think the EV Industry in India holds?
Answer. In the coming years, EV is going to be a big industry, considering the Indian government pushing for its adoption. We will see infrastructural development and with that will come the new vehicular technology and support. Furthermore, the increasing cost of fossil fuels will have people lean towards the EV industry and with the initiatives and schemes still going on, there will be an increased attention shift to the environmental impact of ice engines/ fossil fuels, as it is started already. The EV industry has a bright future.
Q3. According to you, what is the major development required in the EV sector?
Answer. The current EV ecosystem requires an increase in charging network which would allow people to drive without range anxiety and this is where destination charging platforms such as ChargeEZ comes in and “You can charge where you go” Along with this, the current market rates for EV vehicles are high and as cost goes down, we should see more adoption.
Q4. Do you think that India is ready if there is a mass EV adoption?
Answer. Certainly, as the government is already working towards increasing the adoption and has rolled out the required for that, India is building a suitable platform for EVs to exist. Several years ahead, when we should have a strong infrastructure that is reliable for EV owners, the adoption should increase and as a number of new manufacturers are coming in along with existing players investing in EV, there is surely a growth trajectory visible.
Q5. Being an EV charging platform, what are the types of chargers you provide and what is the current market demand?
Answer. – We provide 2w chargers, 3w and 4w slow chargers and 4w fast chargers, ALl AC and we do the R&D and manufacturing for those in-house. In terms of the market, we see a solid demand across residential, commercial and other locations with decent uptick in the last 6 months.
Q6. Lastly, do you think that India will adopt the charging method or the battery swapping method?
Answer. We believe both, as there are different use cases. Individual users will find it easy to use the charging method since it is easier to use and with the increase in charger availability, it should not be an issue. Also, some commercial users might find battery swapping more efficient with a shorter turnaround time but both the methods will certainly coexist.
