India is ‘charging’ up for mass EV adoption with Bounce Infinity leading the way
With the objective to enable faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in India, the Union Ministry of Power has introduced the consolidated guidelines for charging infrastructure. This promotes the set-up of a robust charging infrastructure that is affordable, accessible, safe, and reliable for the common Indian.
The guidelines highlight the infrastructure requirements and the standards for installing public charging stations (PCS) across the country. This eases the overall process for setting up such stations and gives individuals/entities the freedom to install PCS making them more financially viable for private players. However, there is an exhaustive list of compliance requirements including ‘appropriate’ infrastructure for civil, electrics, and safety measures that all parties should adhere to. This will also support the government’s vision of 30% EV sales penetration for private cars and 80% for electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) by 2030. With the guidelines in place, the government proposes an invitation for private entities and businesses to become key players in developing the EV infrastructure in India.
Bounce Infinity: Disrupting the EV Ecosystem
At Bounce, we understand the challenges and hence we started working on developing a product that circumvents all the challenges and eases roll out of affordable electric scooters with innovative battery solutions. We have been in the automobile/scooter rental business for over seven years, and have recently shifted gear towards E2W. And since inception, we have tried to encourage Indian riders to choose electric vehicles over conventional ones. Bounce has over 4,000 electric vehicles operational across Bengaluru and Vijaywada recording 20,000 daily consumer rides across the two cities on Bounce’s successful ride-sharing app. Bounce has diverse plans and innovative solutions for India’s EV infrastructure problems and is emerging as a key player to accelerate the government’s EV adoption mission. In October 2021, Bounce acquired an EV manufacturing company 22 Motors, and also built an EV plant at Bhiwadi, Rajasthan with a manufacturing capacity of 1.8 lakh scooters a year just after two months, in December 2021, we announced our latest innovation — the Bounce Infinity E1 — a unique product set to disrupt the e-mobility space in the country.
In India, Infinity E1 is the first and only electric scooter with a removable battery. The e-scooter effectively removes customer apprehensions around EV like charging worries, range anxiety, acquisition cost, and battery replacement hassle. With E1, customers can easily remove the battery from their vehicles and charge it as per their convenience, thereby enabling the dual option of charging at home or swapping batteries from the Bounce network of battery swapping stations (BSS). The company had already set up a battery charging infrastructure of over 150 stations across Bengaluru to support its ride-sharing customers. In 2021 alone, these stations did over 4 lakh swaps.
As Infinity E1 is ready to hit roads beginning March 2022, Bounce is ready to expand its current swapping infrastructure over the next 12 months. The company is set to invest over USD 100 million to launch 3,500+ battery swapping stations across 10 major Indian cities including Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. This robust swapping/charging network will support both retail and ride-sharing customers. The company’s smart charging framework will be operational in key locations such as residential societies, corporate offices, parking spaces, malls, cafes, restaurants, etc. Customers can easily locate the nearest station with a quick search on the Bounce App and the company claims that soon Bounce stations will be serving customers at every 2 km.
The recent government intervention of revised guidelines for charging infrastructures like revenue sharing model for land and liberalized norms for licensing will boost our current plans to set up a robust EV charging/swapping network. Through further innovation, the company will continue to solve customer apprehensions around EVs and redefine e-mobility in India.
