MG Motor India and Bharat Petroleum partner to strengthen EV charging ecosystem for passenger EVs in India

The collaboration aims to provide innovative EV charging solutions for customer convenience in India within the next 4-5 years.

India, 25 April, 2022: In line with its commitment to sustainability and green mobility, MG Motor India has partnered with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’, a Forbes Global 2000, and a Fortune Global 500 Company, to bolster the EV charging infrastructure across the country. With this, MG Motor India becomes the first passenger car company to tie up with BPCL to rapidly enhance the adoption of ‘green mobility’.

Aligned with its vision to “ChangeWhatYouCan”, this is MG’s next step toward strengthening electric vehicle adoption in India. The partnership with BPCL will add momentum to EV adoption by expanding opportunities for intercity travel as the two entities will install EV chargers across highways and within cities. With BPCL’s vast customer reach and operations and MG’s strides in the EV space, the two entities can combine expertise to strategically identify charging sites, garner consumer insights, devise loyalty programs, and create technology to manage charging systems.

Commenting on the development, Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director, MG Motor India, said, “The key to a successful transition to electric mobility is a robust EV ecosystem. MG has been at the forefront of the development of a strong EV ecosystem since the launch of the ZS EV in 2020. Along with our ecosystem partners, we are working to create a vast network of EV charging stations, in addition to battery recycling & battery second life solutions for end-to-end sustainability for electric vehicles. Furthermore, our customers also benefit from the unique 6-way charging ecosystem that makes using an EV every day much easier. Our partnership with BPCL is yet another step to strengthening the EV charging infrastructure in India to energize and enhance customer confidence in EVs. BPCL's strong presence and vast network in India will ensure that existing and prospective customers across the country have convenient access to charging solutions. We aim to further expand the opportunities of charging an EV and educate consumers on the environmental benefits of the same.”

From its inception, MG Motor India has set its multi-step charging system with AC chargers and DC fast chargers in residential communities and MG showrooms. MG also extends a 6-way charging ecosystem to its customers, which includes a free-of-cost AC fast-charger (installed at the customer’s home/office), an extended charging network, a plug-and-charge cable onboard, and charge-on-the-go with RSA (Roadside Assistance), and community chargers. The proposed EV Charging Network with BPCL will facilitate an uninterrupted driving experience for EV users and boost the country's EV manufacturing ecosystem.

Commenting on the partnership, Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, BPCL said, “Sustainable consumption is the present and future as we move into the era of mass electric mobility. As we herald the phase of rapid energy transition to electric mobility, BPCL is at the forefront of addressing the three big anxieties amongst electric vehicle owners (range anxiety, time anxiety, and discovery anxiety) in order to build consumer confidence for the accelerated adoption of electric vehicles in the country. BPCL is setting up fast charging corridors across major highways in the country, inter-connecting major cities, and economic centres, and will have a network of 7000 conveniently located fast charging stations in the country in the next 2-3 years. These fast charging stations will come with a host of customer amenities viz, hygienic washrooms, refreshments, microATMs, etc. This era calls for strategic cross-industry collaboration to reach new and important milestones in the EV charging ecosystem and at BPCL, we are excited to expand our ambit and create positive synergies with innovative brands like MG Motor India to usher in the era of best-in-class EV charging solutions. MG Motor India is known for creating differentiated customer experiences through its wide range of evolved Internet SUVs and is a leading player in EVs in India. We look forward to this partnership, providing a fillip to countrywide adoption of electric mobility and opening up opportunities for creating exciting customer offerings in the personal mobility space.”

About MG Motor India

Founded in the UK in 1924, Morris Garages vehicles were world-famous for their sports cars, roadsters, and cabriolet series. MG vehicles were much sought after by many celebrities, including the British Prime Ministers and even the British Royal Family, for their styling, elegance, and spirited performance. The MG Car Club, set up in 1930 at Abingdon in the UK, has thousands of loyal fans, making it one of the world’s largest clubs for a car brand. MG has evolved into a modern, futuristic, and innovative brand over the last 96 years. Its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat, has an annual production capacity of 80,000 vehicles and employs nearly 2,500 workforces. Driven by its vision of CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric) mobility, the cutting-edge automaker has augmented across-the-board ‘experiences’ within the automobile segment today. It has introduced several ‘firsts’ in India, including India’s first Internet SUV – MG Hector, India’s first Pure Electric Internet SUV – MG ZS EV, and India’s first Autonomous (Level 1) Premium SUV – MG Gloster and MG Astor - India's first SUV with personal AI assistant and Autonomous (Level 2) technology.

About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL):

Fortune Global 500 Company, Bharat Petroleum is the second largest Indian Oil Marketing Company and one of the premier integrated energy companies in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a significant presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The company attained the coveted Maharatna status, joining the elite club of companies having greater operational & financial autonomy.

Bharat Petroleum’s Refineries at Mumbai & Kochi and subsidiary Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd., at Bina, Madhya Pradesh have a combined refining capacity of around 35.3 MMTPA. Its marketing infrastructure includes a network of installations, depots, energy stations, aviation service stations and LPG distributors. Its distribution network comprises over 20,000 Energy Stations, over 6,100 LPG distributorships, 733 Lubes distributorships, 123 POL storage locations, 53 LPG Bottling Plants, 60 Aviation Service Stations, 3 Lube blending plants and 4 cross-country pipelines.

Bharat Petroleum is integrating its strategy, investments, environmental and social ambitions to move towards a sustainable planet. The company has chalked out the plan to offer electric vehicle charging stations at around 7000 energy stations over next 5 years.

With a focus on sustainable solutions, the company is developing a vibrant ecosystem and a road-map to become a Net Zero Energy Company by 2040, in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Bharat Petroleum has been partnering communities by supporting innumerable initiatives connected primarily in the areas of education, water conservation, skill development, health, community development, capacity building and employee volunteering. With ‘Energising Lives’ as its core purpose, Bharat Petroleum’s vision is to be the most admired global energy company leveraging talent, innovation & technology.