[ALTIMAed]

Hi Folks

Close to my office, is the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, where a couple of months ago, Statiq installed AC and DC Ev chargers which are open to the general public for charging. I normally charge my MG Comet at home, but was elated at the idea of having a charging facility close to my office. Downloaded the app and loaded its wallet with the required minimum amount of Rs 300/- Charged my car twice for 1 hour each, to check the working and convenience. Just yesterday, I got a whatsapp message


Was pleasantly surprised and decided to try it out. Thanks Statiq

[RM Motorsports]

Govt to build 6,000 km of electric vehicle-ready highways on Golden Quadrilateral

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com.../106680883.cms

[FiatDiesel]

I was getting the diesel topped up in my Hector, got my eyes on 60K and 30K chargers at Bharat Petroleum Dhamnod (COCO) outlet in Madhya Pradesh on Indore - Mumbai highway.
As per the staff, both are functional.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by FiatDiesel

I was getting the diesel topped up in my Hector, got my eyes on 60K and 30K chargers at Bharat Petroleum Dhamnod (COCO) outlet in Madhya Pradesh on Indore - Mumbai highway.
As per the staff, both are functional.

Thanks for the update. Can you please provide location of the petrol bunk so that it helps other users?

[FiatDiesel]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

Thanks for the update. Can you please provide location of the petrol bunk so that it helps other users?

Location of BP Dhamnod

Check out this place on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/YK3mq4ZXRDAgFUBB9?g_st=ic

[Rehaan]

Mathewanil's post comparing the RFID cards from ZEON, TATA Power EZ, GOEC, STATIQ, ChargeZone and more has been moved to a new thread:

A comparison of RFID cards for DC fast-charging EVs in India

[mohanphadnis]

Recently did 1800km trip from Pune to Indore and ancillary travel near about Indore recently. The Jio BP and chargezone chargers between Nashik and Indore worked great.

Ioniq 5 was pulling 60kW till 90% consistently on each of the chargers. At most of the restaurants, charging finished (I generally charge to 80-90% depending on distance to go) before my food was done and had to rush out to move the car to shaded parking.

Used Chargezone in Dhule, Jio BP in Dhamnod and Jio BP on Mhow bypass. Everything worked great and autocharge worked like a dream at each charger.

[mathewanil]

I recently had an opportunity to charge at the JIO- BP EV charging hub at Marathalli, Bangalore. The facility was phenomenal and could charge about 100 cars at a time. Both slow and fast charge options were available for both cars and 2 wheelers. The cost of charging is around ₹18/ KW. 80% of the space is reserved for the BLU smart aggregator. The remains 15 slots are available for public use and other taxis. Public cars can also be left overnight for slow charging.

[swarnava.ch]

Originally Posted by mathewanil

I recently had an opportunity to charge at the JIO- BP EV charging hub at Marathalli, Bangalore.

Some thoughts on your post mathewanil.
I had seen this place sometime back but as there were a lot of BLU cars parked, I thought its only for the cabs to get charged. Its good if customers can also use the facilities. BLU Smart cabs have captured a good Taxi market - specially in the Whitefield Area. Uber and Ola are unreliable on Weekdays here in this part specially if you are booking them between 8:30 to 11:30 am mornings or 4:30 to 6:30pm evenings. in case you can book a BLU Smart cab atleast 4 hours early, then you are sure to get a cab. I have used their services a few times now and they are reliable, cabs are nice and Drivers are very courteous.
I assume Aggregators like BLU smart would need such hubs in these localities to scale operations. Having such facilities also helps residents around the place to use such charging infra.

[mathewanil]

You are absolutely right @swarnava.ch. BLU smart aggregators are certainly making a dent to the ride share market. And they are cheaper too.

There are 16 fast chargers available for other taxis and public use. ( please see the screenshot from my Jio-BP app). What is also great is that slow charging ( 16 amp plug points) are available if don’t mind leaving the car overnight. It’s JIO- BP and Statiq which offer the lowest charging rates in South India.



Users should be careful in the mornings when all the cars are getting out of the hub. A row of silent cars will make a beeline to the exit. There is a high possibility that cars may get dinged if someone is not careful.

[navinmra]

My experience with chargers in tier 2 cities and highways:
1. Zeon chargers work like a charm. App is intuitive and you can start charging sessions with least clicks. Their support is also great. You can call them to check status of a charger before you set course.
2. Relux, Sunfuel and Xobolt all have similar UI and give you nearly the same experience as Zeon
3. Tata Power and Rebolt are not intuitive. You have to set the kWh or time for charging and you have to do some back calculation based on how much is there in the wallet. This is weird. You should be simply able to start charging and have the session automatically done nd when your wallet empties.
4. Power cuts are a major headache in tier 2 cities. For instance there is a Tata Power charging at Growers Coffee enroute from Hassan to Charmady Ghats which is perennially down because of power cuts
5. Pro tip#1: when on the highway follow opportunity charging , meaning charge when you find a charger rather than looking for a charger when the SoC is precarious. In my Nexon EV that’s usually every 200 km. In fact when you plan route in PlugShare, you can set this parameter.
6. Pro Tip#2: At your destination, choose hotels that have a charger on premise or in the vicinity. It makes. Big difference in terms of comfort especially if you are traveling with family.
7. Pro Tip#3: don’t get swayed by charging speeds of the DC fast chargers. If you are on a Nexon you will max out at 30kw so don’t go looking for 60kw chargers.
8. Pro tip#4: typically, sedate driving with less frequent charging stops will get you to your destination faster than fast driving with frequent charging.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by navinmra

8. Pro tip#4: typically, sedate driving with less frequent charging stops will get you to your destination faster than fast driving with frequent charging.

Applies specifically to Tata EVs since their charging speeds are capped at very low levels.

On the MG ZS EV, if the infra on the road you are traveling in is good, it makes sense to drive fast and do a quick recharge. Top speed is 74 kW but usually you get 66-68 kW which translates to a real world range of around 80 KMs in a 20 minute charging session. Makes trips like Bangalore - Coimbatore, Bangalore - Chennai a breeze.

Story is similar with most non Tata EVs.

[navinmra]

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

Applies specifically to Tata EVs since their charging speeds are capped at very low levels.

On the MG ZS EV, if the infra on the road you are traveling in is good, it makes sense to drive fast and do a quick recharge. Top speed is 74 kW but usually you get 66-68 kW which translates to a real world range of around 80 KMs in a 20 minute charging session. Makes trips like Bangalore - Coimbatore, Bangalore - Chennai a breeze.

Story is similar with most non Tata EVs.

You are right on the charging speed of cars like MG being higher. But you are limited by speed of chargers. Right now, many chargers on highways in tier 2 regions are still are 30kw and even if there are 60kw chargers and if one gun is taken, then you will only get 30kw on the 2nd gun. And that becomes more painful for the ZS or the XC40 recharge and the likes. And that’s why, all things being equal, I feel sedate driving will still reduce over travel time since you spend less time juicing up.

On a related note, if i see a 60kw and 30kw charger, i always use the 30kw one just to leave the higher speed one for a BYD or ZS EV - pure courtesy.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by navinmra

You are right on the charging speed of cars like MG being higher. But you are limited by speed of chargers. Right now, many chargers on highways in tier 2 regions are still are 30kw and even if there are 60kw chargers and if one gun is taken, then you will only get 30kw on the 2nd gun. And that becomes more painful for the ZS or the XC40 recharge and the likes. And that’s why, all things being equal, I feel sedate driving will still reduce over travel time since you spend less time juicing up.

On a related note, if i see a 60kw and 30kw charger, i always use the 30kw one just to leave the higher speed one for a BYD or ZS EV - pure courtesy.

That's why the qualification that we need good infra on that route. My two most frequented routes have that.

For Bangalore - Chennai, we have the Chargezone Vellore with 5 guns capable of 150+ kW charging with Zeon 50 kW acting as a backup.

For Bangalore - Coimbatore, Zeon has you covered with multiple 120 kW and 60 kW options.

But yes, if infra is poor, best to drive sedately and eek out more range.

Also thanks for being considerate. We as EV community need to do better here.

[navinmra]

If you look at Bangalore to Mangalore then 60 kw is the max you get at Shantigrama toll near Hassan (Relux and Zeon). Zeon chargers there get super busy as those who climb up Shirady or Charmady ghats from Mangalore find it very convenient. I just noticed a few new ones on the Nelamangala Hassan stretch but again 60kw max. On the Udupi Manipal side the story repeats again.

The good news is that there are chargers opening up every other day. Given a choice between more charging points vs greater than 60kw, I will welcome the former.

Also let’s not forget destination charging. I find the 7kw chargers from Sunfuel and Rebolt in Manipal great for overnight charging since they are in hotels and plus slow charging is great for the battery!