ABB plans to make EV chargers in India by year-end

NEW Delhi: ABB will put up facilities in India by as early as the year-end to manufacture electric-vehicle chargers, an important element of the infrastructure ecosystem for the country’s electric mobility industry to progress.In a market like India with 1.2 billion people, the requirements “can only be fulfilled if we do it locally”, Frank Muehlon, head of the Swiss engineering company’s Global Business for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, told ET.“So, we have a clear plan going forward on putting local charger production here in India, either end of this or early next year.”Muehlon didn’t say how much investment it would require. "I can’t disclose the number, but we are funding that,” he said. The company, which is betting on the Indian market, wants the government’s announcements on the EV industry to be translated into action in the industry.“E-mobility depends on how speedily OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) bring in the cars. The other thing is grid enforcement (to ensure power supply to charging stations). For chargers, you need to put right grid behind and people need to put the charger on the ground to operate them; so, again you need entrepreneurs who start doing that. Overall, I have no doubt that this will happen,” he said.As the cost of lithium-ion battery is falling rapidly, the price of a vehicle running on fossil fuel and one on battery-powered electric motor will become around the same for mid-size cars roughly by 2021-2022, Muehlon predicted.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2P1ulMX