Tata Passenger Electric Mobility and HPCL join hands to build EV charging infra

Balaje Rajan, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Debashis Chakraverty, Chief General Manager, Retail Strategy & BD, HPCL signing the MOU

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. (TPEM), the electric carmaking arm of Tata Motors, has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with state-owned oil retailer Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) to collaborate in establishing public charging stations across India.

Both the companies have jointly announced that the collaboration will leverage HPCL's widespread fuel station network and TPEM's insights from over 1.2 lakh Tata EVs on Indian roads, to set up chargers at locations frequently visited by Tata EV owners. Additionally, HPCL claimed that it will gather insights on charger usage to improve the customer experiences.

“In an effort to improve the experience of EV owners across India, this agreement between TPEM and HPCL aims to explore synergies between the two companies to encourage more people to adopt electric vehicles in the country. The two companies are also exploring the introduction of a convenient payment system through a co-branded RFID card, which will make the charging experience hassle-free," the companies said in a release.

Balaje Rajan, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. said, “This collaboration is essential for facilitating infrastructure development to support the expanding EV customer base. Leveraging TPEM's extensive insights into EV usage and HPCL's extensive nationwide network, this partnership has the potential to transform the charging infrastructure landscape in the country.”

Furthermore, HPCL aims to install 5,000 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations by December 2024. With four products in its portfolio, TPEM has led the rise of the EV ecosystem in the country, right from introducing its first EV exclusive store in Gurugram to working with various charge point operators to grow India’s charging infrastructure. On the other side, HPCL has installed a total of 3,050 EV charging stations, including battery swapping stations, across the country.

Debashis Chakraverty, Chief General Manager, Retail Strategy & BD, HPCL: “HPCL with its 21,000+ fuel stations has entered into an alliance with Tata Motors that commands 68 percent market share in Indian EV market. Through this alliance, HPCL shall leverage Tata Motors’ vehicle base to enable our strategic expansion in EV Charging infrastructure at places with higher charging demand and will help in reducing range anxiety of EV customers”

It may be recalled that HPCL has set up its first electric vehicle charging facility at Karelibag locality in Gujarat in 2020. Around that time, the state-owned firm revealed that it will plan, develop and install EV charging facilities at suitable locations throughout the country.

In July 2021, Tata Power had joined hands with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to provide end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at the latter's retail outlets at multiple cities and major highways across the country.  Under the pact, Tata Power stated that it will provide its EV charging infrastructure at HPCL petrol pumps for users.