India’s big step into electrification

Written by Kfir Kedem - July 06, 2020

Edited by Asaf Kedem

Photo credits: SUN Mobility

SUN Mobility have been producing electric vehicles in India for several years, however, they have been facing the challenge of building Indian infrastructure to meet electrification demands. They currently offer three vehicles: a two-wheel electric scooter, an electric auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk styled three-wheeler), and an electric bus. It is likely difficult to convince the Indian market to make the switch from traditional combustion powered vehicles to electric vehicles, as the electric charging station infrastructure is almost non-existent. Additionally, India’s overall electric infrastructure is lagging behind more developed countries. As a result, it would be costly, timely, and inefficient to set up charging stations like the ones we see in Europe.

SUN Mobility’s solution is to set up battery swap stations all over India. They already have over five locations where their EV users can reliably swap their batteries. The batteries are specifically designed for this style of charging and are swapped using a locker-like system. When a user needs to replace their battery, they put the old one in a locker and open a “fully-charged” locker from which they can take their new battery. The service is provided with a pay-as-you-go payment style, so the commitment of the user is minimal.

Auto Trendy’s take:

Given the lack of electric infrastructure in India, SUN Mobility’s solution is perfect for the Indian market. Another benefit that SUN Mobility’s battery-swap users will experience is the low wait-time when it comes to charging their vehicles. In Europe we’re already used to seeing EVs everywhere, however, that is not the case in India. It’s exciting to see progress being made there and would be interesting to see how fast they can catch up with their vehicles’ electrification.