EV Enthusiast in India? EV Charging Stations, Costs and Apps to Know

You search for ‘EV charger near me’ but when you get to the first one (12km away) it’s not active. The second one doesn’t have the right connector and the third only accepts payments through an app you don’t have installed. If you’ve driven an EV in India for a few months then you’ll know this all too well.

The issue is that EV charging is very fragmented with many different networks. Each network will have its own apps, wallets and prices.

Why ‘near me’ might not be useful

Searching for ‘EV charging app’ or ‘nearest EV charger’ won’t give you much useful info. There are a few factors to consider:

• Type of connector available: The most common in India are CCS2, Type 2 and Bharat. Your car will only support certain types.

• Active status: Chargers will often turn off or be busy.

• Slow charging: AC chargers are slow. DC fast chargers are often between 25-150KW and many EVs can charge to 80% in around 30-70mins.

What EV charging actually costs

The cost of charging will depend on the network, city and speed. Fast DC charging will usually be more expensive. The cost of EV car charging will depend on the size of the battery. Often the prices will only be displayed within the apps of each network. You should check the rate.

Options for finding and paying

• Apps specific to each network (Tata Power EZ Charge, ChargeZone etc): Usually the most reliable option to find their chargers. However, it will only show their stations and you will need to log into each one separately with their own wallet.

• Maps and community sites (Google Maps, PlugShare): Broad coverage. However, the prices, connector type and active status may not be fully accurate.

• Multi-network apps (MyMotor): This is great for seeing multiple networks on one map. You can see what connector type, speed, price and active status they have. This is great if you regularly drive between cities and don’t want 5 apps.

Most people will find it easiest to have one multi-network app to search for stations, and one app for the nearest network to where you live/ work.

Why try a multi-network app?

MyMotor is primarily a car information app but the ev charging app shows over 3000 stations from 30+ networks. This means you can see if they’re free and the correct connector for your car. It also has a trip planning tool for any long journeys you need to make with DC fast charging stops. It only has one EV wallet so you won’t have to add money to multiple apps. As it began as an app for looking up RC information and challans, you can also check challan up any outstanding e-challans by vehicle number.

Quick tips to save you time

• Look up what connector they have

• Check it’s active

• Ensure you have enough in your wallet

• Do a challan check every few months.