Hyderabad-based Goldstone Infratech Ltd and Chinese electric bus manufacturer BYD Auto Ltd plan to install their own charging stations along the routes where their buses are set to ply.
Lack of charging infrastructure has so far been a major challenge to India’s electric mobility dreams.
Goldstone, which has a strategic tie-up with BYD for selling electric vehicles in India, will also start assembling lithium ion battery packs this financial year and start sourcing electric vehicle components locally.
According to Livemint, N.K. Rawal, managing director of Goldstone said that their company have already installed some and will further create infrastructure in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. He further added that it is not a constraint because public transport vehicles are parked at bus depots and state transport departments are allocating space for creating charging infra.
At present, 31 BYD buses are operating in India. Goldstone has orders for an additional 165 buses. Rawal said that they are here for the long term and have plans to localize production. They are working with both local and global suppliers and have a specific plan.
As of now Goldstone Infratech has invested Rs 100 crore in this project and after a year the company will look to invest in developing electric vehicles in India as well.
Rawal added that right now research and development is not done over here but eventually after manufacturing a set up streamline simultaneously they are looking at R&D also but it still a year from now.
Recently in a tender floated by the Department of Heavy Industries, Goldstone – BYD emerged as the second successful bidder after Tata Motors for supplying electric busses to the State Transport Units.
