Afraid of being stuck on the highway without charge when you take out your Electric Vehicle for a long-distance drive? A group of Electric Vehicle (EV) enthusiasts from Mumbai is attempting to address the challenge and demonstrate that EVs can be used comfortably outside city limits. PluginIndia.com, a startup focussed on the promotion of EVs, along with a group of EV owners, is organising a rally that will promote the use of EVs in off-city limits.

As a part of this, the group will instal around 15 charging points at various locations in Maharashtra, mainly along highways connecting Mumbai and Nashik and Mumbai and Pune.

The event goes by the name RE:LIVE (The Rally for EcoLogical Initiatives to Vitalize the Environment). “There is only so much the government can do. Therefore we decided to take this up in whatever capacity we can. We want to prove that with a good EV charging network, it is possible to take EVs out of cities and with good partnerships, we will be able to achieve that,” said Kamlesh Mallick, founder of PluginIndia.com.

Mahindra Electric, the electric vehicle unit of Mahindra, is sponsoring the installation of charging points along the routes. On January 7, participants from Mumbai will drive to Nashik via NH 160 through Igatpuri, using three charge points on the route. And another set of drivers will leave from Ahmednagar to Shirdi and then reach Nashik on January 7.

With India facing severe pollution and climate change issues, EVs could possibly spell the future of mobility in the country.

The EV market in India is still in its infancy. Currently, most of the EV owners use them only within city limits owing to challenges of charging. As of July 2016, there were around 22,000 EVs in the country. While the Indian government aims to make India a 100% E-vehicle nation by 2030, there are several challenges. We lack basic infrastructure such as the lack of charging stations, and the high cost of batteries.

EOM

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