India's largest E2W maker Hero Electric has partnered with the country's leading EV charging network BOLT to set up 50,000 charging stations by next year. As part of the collaboration, BOLT chargers will be installed in more than 750 Hero Electric touchpoints across India benefitting over 4.5 lakh customers.
Also, about 2,000 Hero Electric riders will avail free of cost BOLT charging units set up at their homes. The partnership will help both Hero Electric and BOLT achieve their shared goal of providing a robust, affordable, and accessible EV charging infrastructure to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the country.
The BOLT charging network will be leveraged both by Hero Electric's enterprise partners and EV customers, significantly curbing range anxiety. Additionally, BOLT will be integrated within the Hero Electric App and website, offering a one-stop solution for locating a charging station, booking a slot, and payment. Moreover, subscription-based plans will be announced for Hero Electric riders to ease their usage, according to the joint statement.
Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric said, "We are delighted to partner with BOLT as its charging network will offer affordable charging solutions further, encouraging the switch to electric vehicles. A robust charging network has aided the growth of EVs by curbing range anxiety among riders".
"Our mission is to enable carbon-free mobility and fasten EV adoption in the country by building a strong charging ecosystem and reskilling mechanics to offer an enhanced EV riding experience. We are positive that this collaboration will broaden our efforts to reach the set objective. This partnership will benefit the industry overall and allow e2W riders easy access to charging stations pan India", he added.
The BOLT charging network is hardware agnostic and will integrate with any charging solution provider in the country. The BOLT OS comes pre-installed in many EVs and, the company's revolutionary vehicles to charger connectivity (V2C) will enable a seamless fastag-like EV charging experience for EV users.
Commenting on the partnership, Jyotiranjan Harichandan, Co-founder, BOLT, said, "This collaboration will help to create a seamless charging experience for lakhs of Hero Electric customers as they can use the existing Hero Electric app and website for discovery, booking, and payment. With having a "Charger on-demand", range anxiety will be history as we move towards achieving our goal of installing over 1 million charging points over the next 2 years."
BOLT claims to be India's largest EV charging network, comprising the universal BOLT Charging Point and the BOLT Operating System. Developed to build a strong EV charging infrastructure, it is India's first dedicated network of IoT-enabled EV charging points connecting riders across the country.
Over 10,000 BOLT charging points have already been installed across 100 different cities in India, with an installed capacity of over 33000KW and 50,000 active users. BOLT is also on track to deploy 100,000 charging points in the next 6 months across the country, it adds.
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