NEW DELHI: Bolt, one of India’s leading electric vehicle charging network, aims to have 100,000 charging points by the end of March 2023. Currently, the Bengaluru-based firm has deployed about 15,000 charging points.
“We have partnership with almost all the top 10 leading EV players- be it in the charging space or developing an operating system (OS) for them. Add to it, our products are affordable and very safe to use,” said Mohit Yadav, cofounder, Bolt. Yadav added that they are open to collaborate to white label and retail its charging socket.
The company had last year partnered with Hero Electric to set up 50,000 charging points. It also has a partnership with BLive to set up EV charging points in over 100 locations. Bolt on Tuesday launched the BOLT LITE socket, which is compatible with all portable chargers that come with any electric vehicle and works with the existing AC power supply at home. The product is available at an introductory price of Rs 2,599.
Yadav said most 15 ampere sockets don’t offer any direct safety or monitoring features and are not recommended for long term electric vehicle charging. Bolt claims to offer dual-layer of protection with an in-built MCB that automatically switches off electrical circuits during any abnormal condition in the electrical network such as overload and short circuit conditions.
Deadline to implement EV battery norms extended
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has given additional time to EV manufacturers by extending EV battery testing standards till Dec 2022 and Mar 2023. The government had earlier decided to implement the standards from Oct 1, 2022. “The new regulations, if implemented w.e.f. Oct 1 would have brought the EV industry to a grinding halt,” said Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles.