'EV charging biz to grow at 50 by 2022 in India'

Power and energy management firm Delta Electronics expects its electric vehicle charging business in India to grow around 50 per cent per annum in the next three years with more car makers bringing their EVs into the country, according to a senior company official.

The company, which has so far installed over 700 charging stations in India, is currently in the process of setting up of its third plant at Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu as part of its USD 500 million investment programme till 2026.

"This year, we have supplied close to over 700 EV chargers of different types and different capacities. We see that in the initial few years there will be minimum 50 per cent growth at least and the market will evolve in three years," Delta Electronics India Business Head, EV Charging Solutions, Akshaye Barbuddhe told PTI.

He said the EV charging ecosystem is only expected to grow with more and more automobile manufacturers bringing or planning to introduce their electric vehicles in the country.

"There is a reason for it. Three-four years back there were very limited number electric car models, today at least you have four," he said, adding thus one of the segments of the electric vehicle (EV) market is being developed.

Currently homegrown auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors have electric cars. While Hyundai launched its electric SUV Kona in July, MG Motor India is slated to bring ZS EV in January in the market.

While car market leader Maruti Suzuki has been testing a fleet of 50 electric cars based on its WagonR model platform, it has stated that it would not commercially launch electric car for public use citing lack of infrastructure and government support. Originally, the company had planned to launch it in 2020.

"When more EVs are launched, it adds to the fuel," he said, adding e-mobility would also bring sharing of charging infrastructure in future.

Asked about revenue targets from India, Barbuddhe said for the company till this year there was no formal business "but from next year we have a formal budget we have to chase in the market revenue of USD 10 million".

He said the company has committed investment of USD 500 million by up to 2026. Of this USD 200 million is on setting up of the first phase of Krishnagiri plant and R&D lab. Spread over 125 acres, the Krishnagiri units will be developed in five phases, which include SEZ as well.

Delta Electronics has two other factories at Rudrapur and Hosur.

"As of now, we have a capacity of 100 EV chargers per month, which we can ramp up to 500 in three months time. We have no constraints but we will do it as per market demand," Barbuddhe said.

Recently, the company introduced its next-generation charging solutions -- DC City Charger and AC Max -- that will cater to the need of public charging infrastructure.

It has also unveiled its E-Mobility Tech Experience Center conceptualised to provide an industry platform to support all types of ratings and configurations and become an enabler in understanding the ecosystem of EV charging solutions.

Globally, Delta has been active in the e-mobility space for the past seven years with dedicated manufacturing facilities in Slovakia, Taiwan and China.