Zeon Electric Pvt Ltd, a leading charge point operator in South India, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEM), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, to set up charging stations across India.

Coimbatore-headquartered Zeon has planned to establish 5,000 charge points by the calendar year 2025. This would constitute mostly high-powered DC fast chargers (50kW to 480kW) and AC destination charge points, according to a statement.

In collaboration with TPEM, Zeon will install chargers at strategic places and frequented spots by Tata EV owners. One of the objectives is to expand the charging ecosystem through insights gained into customers’ behavior and preferences.

“At Zeon, we believe that it is not just enough to have chargers, but it is more important to have charging stations that customers can rely upon. Our partnership with TPEM would help us build a charging ecosystem that is convenient and relevant to EV owners. And most importantly, our partnership would help build a network that EV owners can count on,” Karthikeyan Palanisamy - CEO, of Zeon, said.

Charge points

As of December 2023, Zeon had 226 operational charge points in South India, with which it has electrified more than 8,500 km of Indian highways. The company has been gradually expanding to other parts of the country.

Apart from Zeon, TPEM has also signed agreements with charge point operators such as Chargezone, Glida (formerly known as Fortum Charge & Drive India) and Statiq.

“The need of the hour for accelerating a nationwide charging ecosystem is open collaboration, and we are delighted to announce our strategic collaboration with Chargezone, Glida, Statiq, and Zeon, to create 10,000+ additional charging points in the country by FY25, said Balaje Rajan, Chief Strategy Officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.

A recent report by rating agency ICRA said the total number of public charging stations stood at 10,000 in 2022 up from 942 in 2021. The total number is expected to reach 45,000-50,000 units in 2025. Slow charges account for little over 60 per cent now.