Know About goEgoNetwork: A Major Indian EV Charging Player

1. Tell us about goEgoNetwork as a major Indian EV Charging player &, what are your plans in India?

goEgoNetwork is a Pune-based EV Charging Infrastructure startup building a robust network of smart charging stations in India. Our story began with finding alternative solutions to reduce carbon emissions from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles.

One would be shocked to know that India now is the world’s 4th most significant greenhouse gas emitter with 7.08% of total global emissions. With vehicular emissions being a key contributor to the same, the Indian government started looking at electric vehicles (EV) as a viable alternative, yet a major hurdle still remained, i.e. a robust EV charging infrastructure. 

We started in 2019 with the belief that EVs are a force of change for a sustainable tomorrow. The decision to launch goEgo was strengthened by an insight that most EV infrastructure companies were either corporate dinosaurs of the energy & oil industry or spinoffs that lacked the agility and innovation required to build strategic solutions.

In 2020, we participated in the globally acclaimed event for EV charging companies, Plugfest. We also tested our prototype charging solutions on one of the finest electric cars, i.e. Tesla and Hyundai. The limelight moment of the year was receiving the first order from HPCL which led to us being present in five Indian states in no time.

In September 2021, goEgoNetwork set up its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near Aurangabad. Here we successfully developed our charging stations namely Albatross Series, Eagle Series & Falcon Series. In 2022, we expanded to installations in malls, and educational institutes, and have cemented partnerships with Park+, No Broker, VIT’S Kamats Group and Handiman Services. In June 2022, we launched the goEgo Fast EV Charging Park on the Mumbai - Bangalore highway. Since our inception, our presence has grown to 50 cities across 15 states and we have only just begun.

Plans in India
The EV industry is rapidly expanding in India. EV sales in India will grow exponentially in the coming years. goEgoNetwork is uniquely positioned to cater to the exponentially growing charging needs of all of those new electric cars hitting the roads. Our team is constantly working on identifying locations where we could roll out our network and offer seamless charging to the EV driver community. Our mission is to be a hassle-free sustainable choice for a million people by sharing our passion for a greener planet through a seamless, intelligent, and reliable EV charging network that is easily accessible to everyone. 

goEgo has set up about more than 1,000 charging points across India. Last year, we setup our EV manufacturing facility and began growing our network of charging stations. We also built our dealer and distributor network who could give us this growth. The idea is to grow 40% month-on-month, and become the Number 1 player by 2023. Our hardware and software is completely made in India. 

Our charging network is SMART: S (Safety) M (Measurement) A (Availability) R (Reliability) T (Transparency).

goEgo’s ambition is to be a top-network player in India. We want to have the greatest number of charging stations by end of 2023. These are not smart sockets, but full-fledged charging stations that can charge any EV with safety. We want to serve 2 million customers and be present in major metropolitan cities by end of 2023. We want to expand in North and East region, as we already enjoy a significant presence in Maharashtra and south of India. We want our pan-India customers to be assured that wherever they go, they can find a goEgo charging station and can access EV charging with the same goME app or card. As of 2022, ten of the top 15 most polluted cities are in India, and we hope that our contributions are able to lower the number in the coming years.

2. Please tell us about your EV charging stations, its USPS and the charging points/locations?

goEgo's capabilities today span all the way from 100% in-house design and engineering of the charging stations all the way to automated controller board manufacturing and managed charger assembly lines at our manufacturing facility near Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Inside our 40,000 sq. ft. facility, we operate with professionally managed manufacturing, quality control and administration departments. We currently have a planned capacity to deliver 5000 EV charging stations per month from our factory and can further expand with additional assembly lines to cater to future demand in the same factory premises.

Our charging stations are designed specifically for the Indian market and have numerous options to optimize charging, reduce charging costs and increase revenues for our public EV charging stations by routing traffic via the goME app (consumer mobile app offered by goEgo to EV drivers for free).

goEgo EV charging stations are designed for simplicity and ease of use. goEgoNetwork offers various solutions to customers who want to set up EV charging stations at their premises ranging from ultra-fast DC Charging stations to Fast AC charging stations for residential and commercial premises. 

Our personal charging stations for garages and individual parking lots are equipped with the best safety features for home charging. Moreover, our diverse range of charging solutions for businesses comes with an array of benefits including cost optimization, equipment safety, and protection against power surge/dip, fast charging for increased ROI, etc. Interestingly, the robust network of goEgo charging stations can be easily located using the goME app - a one-stop solution offering a world of solutions to EV owners and drivers.

3. Besides EV charging stations, what are the other solutions you are providing?

goEgo has set up charging stations for different customer segments across India. We serve customers in residential societies as well as in restaurants, hotels, highways, and charge parks. We have a complete portfolio of public, personal and community-owned AC and DC chargers, to meet India’s demand for electric vehicle charging.  

4. We have seen some positive EV policies in India since year 2019. In your opinion, what were the key highlights of the same?

The goods and services tax (GST) on electric vehicles has been reduced from 12% to 5% and GST on chargers or charging stations for electric vehicles has been reduced from 18% to 5%. When paying off an EV loan, a total tax exemption of up to Rs 1,50,000 is available under section 80EEB. There are also lowered interest rates on loans for EV purchases by some banks. Overall, there seems to be a strong push for EV adoption in India from the policy side. In Maharashtra, where we are based, the EV policy aims to realize 25% electrification of public transport in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Amravati and Nashik. It also aims to ensure that 10% of all new vehicles should be EV by 2025. Introduction of green meters is another great initiative, through which electricity costs for EV charging gets reduced by almost 50% which further brings down the running costs.

5. What are the government standards for setting up EV charging stations? Are there any difficulties in adhering to these standards? Any recommendations to government on such standards? 

In January this year, Central Government opened doors for any individual or entity to set up public charging stations without licensing provided they meet the safety protocol. Along with a revenue sharing model, it announced that owners of Electric Vehicles can now charge them at their residence/offices using their existing electricity connections. India allows different Indian and international standards of EV charging.

The only problem we see while setting up EV Charging Stations is the requisite power required. The charging station takes 3-6 months to acquire the given load at that particular place if it is not available on the transformer. The government should have a single-window system for clearing such requirements and getting the requisite power required on spot. It will enable charging station companies to set up infrastructure at a much faster rate.  

6. What are the industry challenges to EV charging points and the adoption of electric 4 wheelers?

For EV charging infrastructure, the main challenges are to set up enough charging stations in the right places and have the electric grid to support its hassle-free operation. While range anxiety remains the biggest barrier to widespread adoption of electric 4 wheelers, price of the vehicle and lack of proper charging infrastructure are also areas of concern for a lot of consumers. 

Innovations in battery technology are bound to reduce the cost. The vehicle manufacturers on their part should also launch new models and reduce the delivery time of the vehicle which currently ranges anywhere between 4 to 6 months.

7. What is the confidence level of the public to buy a 4-wheeler EV given the current charging stations & also the high price tag of owning a EV car?

The Covid induced lockdowns have increased consumer awareness about environmental issues and these reflect in their intention to purchase sustainable products. As per a recent report almost 40% of those planning to buy a new car are thinking of EVs. Government data as of July 2022 states that over 13 lakh Electric Vehicles in use in India.

While there is positive disposition in the thinking, this gets weighed down by barriers like high price points, range anxiety, lack of charging infrastructure and lack of consumer awareness about EV technology. The challenge for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be to capitalize on consumer interest and persuade them to go green with a wider and affordable EV range. While the government is offering subsidies and benefits to consumers on purchases, a lot of consumers are willing to wait till at least some of them get addressed. Those who have already purchased an EV are happy with the purchase and are motivating their peers to
adopt EVs. A growing community of EV owners is the new and fresh wave of change that India ought to see amid rising environmental concerns, as well as amid high fuel costs. Many EV owners are also opting for power sources like solar to make their deal greener and further boost green energy. This also ensures cost-effectiveness and thus fuels consumer confidence in their purchase. 

8. What is the market outlook of goEgoNetwork vis-a-vis EV sector in India?

We want to continue and build on goEgo’s streak of being a leading player in EV Charging space in India. Out of the 9 million electric vehicles supposed to be on roads by 2027-28, we are bullish to see a million members on goEgo Network. We are aggressive in our outlook as the Indian EV sector grows. We aim to complete installing 18,000 EV charging stations by 2023 and by 2026, almost a hundred thousand charging stations.