We share the Hero-BP partnership plan details in this story – on how the two behemoths intend to disrupt the electric charging ecosystem together…
The rapid adoption and development of Electric Propulsion as the new-age solution for mobility in our country has to face a lot of hurdles in the long term as well as in the short term. With so many EVs being offered in the two-wheeler as well as four-wheeler segment combined, the biggest issue the customers are going to face is the lack of charging infrastructure. And then that creates ‘range anxiety’ among customers.
The EV manufacturers are aware of this issue and are taking various steps to mitigate the problem as well as gain an advantage over their rivals in the segment. A very recent example of this is the announcement of partnership between Hero MotoCorp and Bharat Petroleum with an objective to create Smart And Connected Large Scale EV-Charging Infrastructure.
Speaking during the announcement, Dr. Pawan Munjal (Chairman and CEO, Hero MotoCorp) said –
“ Hero MotoCorp has always been at the forefront of propelling the industry and leading it into the future. Once again, as the automotive and mobility sectors are poised to evolve, we are taking strategic steps to lead this evolution. Through our endeavors towards both organic and inorganic business expansion, we are poised to accelerate the growth of emerging mobility trends”.
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He further adds –
“Now, with our Vision “Be the Future of Mobility” we are aggressively advancing our initiatives towards the technologies and solutions that will empower all individuals, societies and industries to contribute towards the planet’s environmental targets. The partnership with BPCL, which is already at the forefront of customer energy solutions, will be beneficial for both the EV segment and customers. This collaboration will also unlock opportunities for asset allocation and expansion in the future.”
Hero-BP Partnership – What is the Plan?
Elaborating upon their combined plan, Hero and BP explained that the first step is to “Establish a substantial charging infrastructure” at their already existing nationwide energy station network. BP has planned to convert nearly 7,000 of their conventional retail outlets into Energy Stations focussed on providing multiple fueling options to their customers, including EV charging facility in the medium and long term.
In the Phase-1 of their plan, they aim to setup charging stations across nine cities of India, starting with Delhi and Bengaluru. Hero claims they will soon commence the infrastructure development in the two mentioned cities.
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Each new and existing charging station is going to feature multiple charging points which will include both DC and AC chargers and will be made available for use to all two-wheeled EVs. The entire charging experience will be controlled by a ‘Hero MotoCorp Mobile-App’ which will follow a cashless transaction model.
They further explain that post Phase-1, their network will be then expanded across the entire country with the aim to establish a high number of charging stations. The massive Bharat Petroleum energy station network will be very beneficial for Hero to expand their scope of operations and services.
Finally talking about the future, both the companies iterate that in the long-term they may broaden their collaboration to develop more “synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, thereby enabling prospects throughout the customer life cycle”. They further add that they may utilize the gateways created today to make additional investments into building a robust EV ecosystem in the future.
