Mercedes calls for a common platform offering real-time information on EV charging stations

Ensuring convenience in charging electric vehicles, Mercedez-Benz India, the luxury car manufacturing giant has called for a common platform to offer real-time information of all available charging stations from different service providers. 

Mercedes-Benz India CEO and MD Santosh Iyer highlighted that the intended app will help enhance customer convenience and further push the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, according to the report, in the interaction with PTI, Iyer further underlined the need of democratising India’s charging infrastructure

"Today, if you buy an electric car, you need 3-4 different apps on your phone. What we are requesting the government is to come up with something like a UPI-based system, India is a leader in digital technology. However, when it comes to charging, there are still multiple apps,” citing Iyer, PTI reported.

"They (apps) don't talk to each other...payment gateways are not in sync..if it can be solved the convenience of EVs will be next level," Iyer pointed out. Citing one example, he stated that Mercedes clients in Germany and many other areas of the world may pay for a range of services, including charging, using an app.

"However, in India, we are unable to completely execute since there is no one charge point operator who can aggregate it. So this is the suggestion we keep making, make convenience the foundation of EV ownership," Iyer stated. Customers will switch to EVs if the system becomes more easy, but if it stays difficult they may opt out of the category, he added.

He stated that the government must create a platform on which all aggregators must operate.

He cited the recently introduced PM E-Drive Scheme as an indication of the government's continued strong support for the EV industry. According to Iyer, EV sales amounted to around 2.5% of total business sales last year.