India’s Greaves Cotton to set up charging hubs for electric scooters

BENGALURU: Engine maker Greaves Cotton Ltd, which launched its first heavyweight electric scooter last month, plans to set up at least 100 charging stations for two-wheelers across India in the next three months, as the government pushes for more electric vehicles (EV) to combat rising pollution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has set a target of electric vehicles making up 30% of sales of new cars and two-wheelers by 2030, from less than 1% currently.

“We expect to have 5,000 charging outlets eventually,” Greaves Cotton President Vijay Kumar told reporters in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru on Friday.

The 160-year-old company, which bought a majority stake in electric scooter maker Ampere Vehicles last year, competes with other makers of environment-friendly two-wheelers including Ather Energy, Hero Electric and Okinawa..

In February, India proposed incentives as part of its efforts to encourage higher sales of electric vehicles, having said it hopes to electrify all new vehicles by 2030.

“Medium to long term, we see benefit from the shift in policy,” Greaves Cotton Chief Executive Officer Nagesh Basavanhalli said.

Source: reuters