Jio-bp To Set Up 30K EV Charging Points By 2030

SUMMARY

The charging stations will be installed at “EV-convenient locations” such as malls, corporate parks, hotels, airports and residential societies

With this, the JV could be looking to capitalise on the INR 2,000 Cr earmarked by the union government under the PM E-DRIVE scheme to spur EV charging infrastructure

Overall, India was reportedly home to more than 25,200 EV public charging stations at the end of 2024, of which state-run OMCs accounted for over 20,000 stations

Jio-bp, a joint venture (JV) between Reliance Industries and global energy giant BP, reportedly plans to set up over 30,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points in India by 2030.

A source told Livemint that the company will install the charging stations at “EV-convenient locations” such as malls, corporate parks, hotels, airports and residential societies.

As per the report, Jio-bp EV charging stations will be powered by solar energy plants and nearly 70% of the electricity needs of these stations will come from green energy sources.

“While the sales of electric two-wheelers have crossed the 5% adoption threshold, electric four-wheeler sales are yet to reach that inflection point… We have seen across countries that when the adoption of electric vehicles breaches the 5% mark, the growth thereon is rapid, and Jio-bp is also banking on that growth in India,” the source said.

This is largely in line with global trends, which indicate that EV adoption grows rapidly when it reaches the 5% mark. A key issue plaguing the EV ecosystem in India is the range anxiety, which refers to the reluctance of a user to purchase an electric vehicle due to its limited range.

With this, the JV could be looking to capitalise on the INR 2,000 Cr earmarked by the union government under the PM E-DRIVE scheme to spur EV charging infrastructure in the country. As of September 2024, Jio-bp operated 500 charging stations, which encompassed 5,000 EV charging points, across the country.

Overall, India was reportedly home to more than 25,200 EV public charging stations at the end of 2024. Of this, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) had installed over 20,000 EV charging stations using their own funds.

This comes barely days after auto giant Tata Motors announced plans to increase its EV charging points in the country to 4 Lakh by 2027. Under this, the conglomerate’s EV arm TATA.ev will set up 30,000 public fast chargers in partnerships with charge point operators (CPOs) and OMCs at key hotspots such as highways.

Meanwhile, the Indian EV ecosystem is witnessing rapid adoption on the back of subsidies by the Centre, declining costs, and improving charging infrastructure. As per Inc42, the homegrown EV space is projected to become a $110.74 Bn market opportunity by 2029.