Leading German automobile manufacturer Autel Europe GmbH is all set to make a foray into Assam to take on its Chinese counterparts by setting up the northeast’s first electric vehicle (EV) charging station manufacturing plant at Tech City near Guwahati.
State government-run Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (Amtron) has sealed a deal with the German manufacturer and the process to set up the unit has been expedited by readying two blocks at the Tech City in Bongora, Amtron officials told TOI on Saturday.
A team of Amtron led by its chairman, RN Kalita, and vice-chairman, Ritu Baran Sharma, toured Austria, Germany and Latvia early this month to attract manufacturers to expand the smart EV charging station network in the state and boost drone technology.
“The certified manufacturing of EV charging stations and its components have not started in Assam and in its neighbouring states yet, though leading automobile companies have started unveiling various models of EVs. The collaboration is in the final stage and manufacturing will start soon,” Biswajit Dey, accountable manager at Amtron, who was part of the delegation that visited Europe, said.
He said the German manufacturing company’s attempt will be to venture into the Southeast Asian markets from Guwahati. “No such manufacturing plant will be set up by the global manufacturer in the nearby states, except for Guwahati,” Dey said.
Under the Electric Vehicle Policy of Assam, 2021, the state government has planned to convert its existing public transport and government vehicles to EVs by 2030. However, lack of charging stations has been the biggest stumbling block in making the transition to EVs. The transport department sources said Guwahati has less than 100 EV charging points and most of these have been built with components procured from China.
EV industry insiders said only a few charging stations have come up in the state and 90 per cent of the components have been imported from China. However, the Tech City project will help manufacture Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified components, including hardware and software, from scratch to build the smart charging stations to cater to diverse models.
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In the first phase, DIAL has placed the order for 64 electric vehicles for its airside and landside operations. Of these, DIAL has received 57 electric vehicles and deployed them on the airside and landside. Seven more electric vehicles would be deployed soon, according to a release.
The vehicles will be used by the engineering and maintenance and the landside operations team at the airport for their routine work, a TIAL statement said here.