TVS Motor Company has recently revealed that its electric scooter, the iQube, will be available in 20 cities across the country by the end of the current financial year. And working in this context, TVS has entered into a strategic partnership with Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) to strengthen the charging infrastructure for iQube Electric and its future EVs. For those who aren't aware, the CESL is a 100% owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an energy service company (ESCO) of the Government of India.
As part of this partnership, TVS and CESL will jointly develop and establish a charging network in 20 cities, including public and dealership charging stations. The brand is expected to offer free charging facilities in the initial phase before shifting to a subscription-based service.
Commenting on the partnership with the CESL, Manu Saxena, Vice President, Future Mobility & Dealer Transformation, TVS Motor Company, said-
We will continue to contribute to India’s electric adoption, staying true to our brand purpose, TVS IQUBE CHARGE LIFE. This year TVS iQube Electric will be available in over 20 in India. In addition to its home charging options, it will be the TVS dealership charging network, and the emerging public ecosystem, with strong players like CESL that will accelerate India's EV journey.
Launched in January 2020, the TVS iQube Electric scooter is currently available only in Bengaluru and Delhi. Hence, TVS's association with CESL will certainly help the brand to emerge as a more established player in the fast-growing electric-scooter segment. As of now, iQube's core rival Ather 450X has its reach to over 18 cities. In fact, the Bangalore-based start-up is continuously targeting more & more cities across the country.
Besides, more players like Hero MotoCorp and Ola Electric are gearing up to woo the two-wheeler EV segment. The Ola will soon launch its debut product in India, which is expected to be based on Etergo's AppScooter. Even Ola has plans to set up a hypercharger network with over 1 lakh charging points across 400 cities in the country. Hero MotoCorp, on the other hand, has tied up with Gogoro to start a huge battery swapping industry in India.
Nonetheless, TVS's current plan may not be as big as Ola and Hero, but it will certainly give it an advantage over the Bajaj Chetak, which is limited to only two cities (Pune and Bengaluru).
