Electric mobility player Bounce Infinity on Monday said it has partnered with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for setting up battery swapping infrastructure at fuel stations of the public sector oil major.
The battery swapping service starting from Bengaluru will be expanded to major metro cities in a phased manner, and the company aims to set up 3,000 stations across top 10 cities, Bounce said in a statement.
The smart framework will cater not only to the company's retail business, but also support the interoperable partners for two-wheelers and three-wheelers, the company said, adding that the battery swapping as a solution would also support those two- and three-wheelers that have been converted to electric vehicles from conventional engines.
Bounce co-founder & CEO Vivekananda Hallakere said the company has been strategically partnering with prominent industry players to revolutionise the battery swapping scenario.
"This partnership reiterates our commitment towards a cleaner and pollution-free country by making our network accessible to consumers at the same scale and convenience as refuelling. We look forward to a long-lasting partnership between Bounce Infinity and BPCL," Hallakere added.
BPCL executive director in-charge (Retail) P S Ravi said battery swapping with pre-charged batteries from Bounce Infinity will significantly reduce the vehicle downtime, adding customer convenience and reducing range anxiety.
"The interoperability feature offered by Bounce Infinity will help us to serve a larger spread of EV customers and will help in the growth of this important battery swapping segment in the EV space in the country," he added.
Ravi further said, "This partnership focussed on urban markets complements BPCL's overall EV charging roadmap of setting up fast charging corridors across major highways in the country inter-connecting major cities and economic centres and will have a network of 7,000 conveniently located fast charging stations along with a host of customer amenities in the country in the next 2-3 years."
