India’s power planning body prefers the European electric vehicle charging infrastructure standard that’s used by German and American automakers, the Quint reported quoting officials aware of the development.
The Central Electricity Authority’s April report recommended the European Combined Charging System (which is the most followed format), a official told Quint requesting anonymity.
The Union Ministry of Power has to get the approval of the government’s think tank NITI Aayog, the official said.
Still a nascent market for electric vehicles, India aims to turn about 30 percent of its vehicles battery-powered by 2030 as Asia’s third-largest economy looks to curb oil imports and plush cleaner transport. Charging equipment will be a lucrative business opportunity as electric vehicles become more commonplace.
Automakers supporting various standards — including European CCS and Japan’s Chademo — have been lobbying to make their systems acceptable as they have invested in the technology to create an infrastructure.
Shubhranshu Patnaik, partner at Deloitte India told BloombergQuint that European standards are well accepted globally. The auto industry can very quickly adapt to it.
Standards will cover communication infrastructure, connectivity with the grid and adapter size, he said, adding that “it’s not really a significant change for automakers.”
