Tata Motors working on master app to provide info on location of EV charging stations

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Tata Motors is working on a master app that will provide information on the location and availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to its customers, in a bid to accelerate EV adoption and ease the range anxiety of users. The company that dominates the local market for electric vehicles – it had a 71% share in the April-June quarter – is likely to launch the app this fiscal year. With a sizeable customer base in place, the company has begun collating information and is doubling down on its efforts to secure visibility on the charging ecosystem for EV owners, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility managing director Shailesh Chandra told ET.

“In the last three years, we have seen growing consideration for electric vehicles among prospective buyers on the back of validation from existing users. There used to be a lot of anxiety among consumers regarding the availability of charging stations for their vehicles. We have started taking several measures including educating consumers to address these concerns,” he said.

Most users charge electric vehicles at home or in office complexes, Chandra said. For customers who want to purchase electric vehicles but do not have dedicated parking spots, Tata Motors, in collaboration with Tata Power, has commenced work to set up community charging facilities in residential societies. Tata Power has already installed more than 1,275 chargers in 175 societies.

The community charging facilities have 6-7 chargers and can cater to 30 cars. “This will be the next big unlock (to accelerate adoption of EVs),” he said. With electrification moving beyond early adopters and becoming more mainstream, it is also imperative to have a reliable public fast-charging