The electric vehicle (EV) marketplace is on the verge of tremendous expansion. India’s electric vehicle market is expected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate of 49 per cent between 2021-2030. More EVs will, in turn, drive exponential growth across the EV charging ecosystem:  

• Currently, there are 18 electric cars manufacturers in India with 24 cars models in the market. Major Brands selling electric cars in India are Hyundai, Tata, Mahindra, KIA. And Some of the popular electric cars in India are Tata Tiago EV, BYD Auto Atto 3, PMVEaS-E, KIA EV6, Tata Tigor EV and many more to come.

• The number of chargers will grow from thousands into lacs to meet demand, requiring an investment of INR 14,000 crore approximately until 2030 just to build charging stations and related infra.

• Transactions and events, including billing and payments, will exceed accordingly.  

As EV charging operators would like expand their businesses, through both organic growth and an accelerating rate of mergers and acquisitions of other small players in market, we will see increases in cross-operators operations and the need for more complex and numerous roaming interfaces. Those mergers and acquisitions will need EV charging management systems as provided by companies like E-FILL Electric that can handle complex integrations and support multiple operating units and business models. All this increased demand will have a significant impact on the grid and the entire energy value chain and will require capabilities. The compact design of chargers like X3 model and option of upgradation on the same charger from 15kW CCS2 to 30kW CCS2 as per need in coming future will help operators to have wider choice with minimal investment.

Challenges to Scaling EV Charging Business Growth 

Given the opportunities for business growth presented by this marketplace, EV charging network operators need to understand the various challenges that may be ahead. Questions to ask include:   

• Can you charger’s OEM gives you end to end solutions with technology upgradation option as per requirement and have ability to integrate with any APP?
• Can your current EV charging management software and chargers, scale effectively to handle more drivers and transactions? This question covers a range of factors, from user friendly APP and flexibility in CMS, to availability of skilled personnel to add advanced capabilities. 
• Are you limited by a current EV charging management system vendor’s capability? Will they be able to meet your growing demands and meet your needs for on-time delivery of features and resources? 
• If your growth plans call for mergers and acquisitions, are you prepared to address the associated technical and operational challenges? Can you embed new operating units into your EV charging management platform? 
• Can your path to growth deliver economies of scale through technology sophistication and automation? If not, increasing costs can impact profitability. 
• And can your existing solutions do all this and meet your needs for speed to market?  

The Role of a Digital Services Platform 

A digital services platform of E-Fill Electric provides end-to-end, modular capabilities and advanced technologies that enable an EV charging network operator to: 

• Manage operations at scale, from the chargers and their availability to billing, roaming, customer management, and driver management.
• Meet the needs of their business customers and their varying vertical business models, including EV fleets operators, commercial and industrial property owners, and builder societies.
• Provide user friendly APP for and deliver an exceptional charging experience to EV drivers wherever they charge.
• Future ready  industry protocols standards and interconnect with other networks and roaming platforms.
• Integrate with customer applications such as loyalty programs, operator-developed applications for business operations and interfaces.
• Scale seamlessly to support organic growth, mergers, and acquisitions

Critical Points to Look for in a Digital Services Platform 

• When evaluating digital services providers in the marketplace, here are some differentiators to look for across technology, functionality, and implementation.

• Technology requirements include a scalable software platform, technology-enabled operational excellence capabilities like API-based integrations, robust security, and backend technical sound team for preventive maintenance and other applications. 

Functionality differentiators include full EV charging ecosystem support, a proven seamless driver experience, broad support for roaming platforms and integrations, and support for multiple business models. Just as important is how the provider does business with you and implements services. Look for proven processes and documented, repeatable methodologies for software and service implementation, onboarding, migration, and ongoing support. Ask about service level agreements (SLAs) and look for extensive use of standardization and automation, because both are essential to enabling the kind of scalability successful EV charging network operators will need to thrive in today’s hyper-growth marketplace.