Indian Oil Opens Its First EV Charging Station In Nagpur

Nagpur is steadily becoming a convention centre for EVs (electric vehicles). It became the first city in the country to introduce an electrified public transportation model. Now, this city in central Maharashtra has also become home to the first EV charging station, opened in collaboration by state-owned oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and cab aggregator Ola. The latter had previously joined hands with Mahindra to launch India’s first all-electric cab fleet in Nagpur.

On this achievement, Murali Srinivasan, executive director, Maharashtra state office, IOC, said, “As India’s leading oil refiner and marketer, Indian Oil considers promoting ecological sustainability as part of its core business. Thus, this partnership with Ola is the right step forward as we re-imagine how India will commute in the coming years. We applaud Ola for building the Electric Vehicle eco-system from a nascent stage in Nagpur and are happy to partner with them in their efforts. EVs have the ability to solve some of the key issues we are currently facing with respect to vehicular pollution and air quality; and as a large-scale mobility platform, Ola can bring about a catalytic change.”

The oil company’s plans to set up EV charging stations first came to light in its annual report for the current fiscal year. IOC is also exploring opportunities like venturing into manufacturing and retailing of lithium-ion batteries.

Many big names from the automotive industry have joined the movement towards all-electric transportation in the country by 2030. Japanese auto giants Toyota and Suzuki have joined hands to bring their version of EVs in India around 2020. Maruti Suzuki has also invested heavily in building a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant at its facility in Gujarat. Theoretically, India is on the right path but barriers like supporting infrastructure and consumer awareness need attention as well.