Shuzlan Energy Pvt. is in talks with investors to raise $20 million or Rs 166 crore in equity round by January as it needs funds to meet its captive order of 1,000 charging points for buses, Chairperson Rohit Pandit has said.
"The company is setting up two depots for bus charging at Mira Bhayandar, and Ullhasnagar in Mumbai for the respective municipal corporations," Pandit told BQ Prime in an exclusive interview.
"We are in talks with a couple of investors and hope to raise the funds by January next year," the managing director said.
The charging-point operator plans to enter into the electric-vehicle-mobility space and has secured orders for 5,000 EV vehicles as fleet operator for large online retail companies, Pandit said, without disclosing details. "We hope to start the fleet-operation business early next year."
Rohit Pandit, Chairperson and MD, Shuzlan Energy (Source: Company)
Incentivise Charging Infra
The company underscored that incentivising and subsidising the charging-infrastructure business would help faster rollout to meet the Union government's 2030 target for EV adoption.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways announced a target of EV30@2030, where 30% of newly registered private cars, 40% of buses, 70% of commercial cars and 80% of two-wheelers and three-wheelers will be electric.
Installation of charging infrastructure includes not just the chargers, but also transformers, electric connections and civil construction, according to Pandit. "That doubles the cost for companies. So, we have sought for a 50% subsidy on charging infrastructure."
Normally, companies charge Rs 20–25/kWh from customers who use the charging points. "If we are subsidised on the lines of EV two-wheelers and three-wheelers, we can bring down the tariff for charging customers by half," he said.
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