India’s three major oil marketing companies significantly increased the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in FY24, commissioning more than 7,800 new stations during the year.
The public sector oil marketing giants – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) – made substantial progress in ramping up EV charging network last fiscal and have pledged to further expand their EV charging network across the country.
17,000 charging stations set up nationwide
Collectively, these companies have now established nearly 17,000 charging stations nationwide, with further acceleration expected in the coming years.
Indian Oil Corporation installed 3,601 new EV charging stations in FY24, and as of June 30, 2024, the number of EV charging stations commissioned by the energy major stood at 10,028, which constitutes about 60 per cent of all EV charging stations in the country, according to its latest annual report.
Additionally, IOC offers battery swapping services at 99 of its fuel stations, providing flexible and efficient solutions for EV users. The company has also partnered with Sun Mobility Pte Ltd, Singapore, to create a pan-India battery-swapping network.
BPCL has also set ambitious growth targets for EV charging infrastructure. At the company’s recent annual general meeting, Chairman and Managing Director G Krishnakumar highlighted BPCL’s commitment to supporting the transition to electric mobility by expanding its charging infrastructure. The company has already installed over 3,100 charging stations and plans to reach 7,000 in the near future.
In FY24, BPCL commissioned 2,443 new charging stations at its fuel retail outlets and aims to install 3,500 more fast-charging stations for four-wheelers along 150 highway corridors in FY25.
BPCL has also established 14 battery-swapping stations and launched the Highway Fast Charging Corridors initiative, expanding its fast-charging network to 900 stations across 120 key corridors. Over the next five years, BPCL plans to install fast chargers for four-wheelers at around 6,000 retail outlets across 400 highway corridors, focusing on high-traffic routes like the Golden Quadrilateral and North-South/East-West highways.
HPCL added 1,773 EV charging facilities, including battery-swapping stations, in FY24, bringing the total number of retail outlets with EV charging capabilities to 3,603.
Under Phase II of the FAME India scheme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) approved a capital subsidy of ₹800 crore for three Oil Marketing Companies to establish 7,432 EV public charging stations. Additionally, MHI sanctioned an extra ₹73.50 crore under the FAME-II scheme to OMCs for upgrading 980 existing low-capacity charging stations across the country.
Supported by policies such as lower GST on EVs and schemes like FAME and PLI, EV adoption in India is gaining traction.
“India currently has over 8,000 electric buses in operation. In the two-wheeler segment, electric vehicle (EV) penetration has reached 5 per cent, while the three-wheeler segment has achieved 15 per cent penetration. For four-wheelers, EV penetration stands at 2 per cent, with more than 200,000 electric vehicles on the road. With over 12,000 public charging stations available, EVs are becoming more practical and appealing to consumers,” according to Shailesh Chandra, Vice President of SIAM and Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.