Its The EV Business Paradox. More Chargers, Less Profit. Why Are the Chargers Running at a Loss? EV sales may be accelerating, but India’s public charging business faces a stubborn problem: too many chargers, too little utilization. In our second part of the EV series, we focus on the key issue dogging the Indian EV business paradox, the Charging Infrastructure.
By_ http://indiainput.com Desk
Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly visible part of India’s roads. But there is a surprising contradiction at the heart of the EV revolution: selling electricity to EV owners is not automatically a profitable business. The biggest problem is utilization.
Here’s a shocker. A recent report on India’s charging network found that public charging infrastructure has expanded dramatically, but average utilization remains only around 1–5%.
The key observation has caught the planners in a fix. Many EV owners still charge primarily at home or at workplaces, using public chargers mainly for emergencies and long-distance journeys. This user behavior has led to the fresh web of challenges.
A Charger That Sits Idle Still Costs Money
Installing a fast charger involves much more than buying the machine. Operators can face expenses for land, electrical connections, transformers, civil work, software, maintenance, staffing and network operations. Then comes the electricity bill. Even when very few customers are charging, several fixed or demand-related costs can remain.
NITI Aayog’s e-Amrit platform notes that demand charges can be levied based on sanctioned load or maximum power demand, regardless of actual energy consumption.
It specifically notes that reducing or exempting such charges can improve the business case for EV charging.
The Home-Charging Challenge!
Here is the irony: the better EV ownership becomes, the harder some public charging businesses can find it to attract customers. If an EV owner can conveniently charge overnight at home, there may be little reason to visit a public station every day. This forms the core of the user behavior today.
Also, here’s why location matters enormously. A charger near a busy highway, fleet depot, taxi hub, shopping centre or restaurant can potentially generate far more business than an expensive charger sitting in a low-traffic location.
India Needs Chargers—Provided they’re Smart!
India is not short of ambition, it never was. The Union government says EV public charging is an open activity in which private entrepreneurs can participate. And the same while, a whopping ₹2,000 crore has been allocated under PM E-DRIVE for nationwide EV public charging infrastructure. That’s one.
However, more chargers alone will not solve the problem.
The future may belong to charging networks that combine the right location, reliable equipment, competitive tariffs and predictable customers such as commercial fleets. The EV revolution needs infrastructure—but infrastructure needs utilization.
So, the EV Series Part 2 takeaway is about, honoring the investment. In the EV charging business, the question that matters isn’t “How many chargers can we install?” It is “How many hours will people actually use them?”
EV Series: Click for the first part here:
https://indiainput.com/ev-101-before-you-buy-an-ev-read-this/
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