MG Motor, Fortum Deploy 50 kW Superfast EV Charging Station in Gujarat

MG Motor India and Fortum Charge & Drive India have deployed a 50 kW superfast public EV charging station in Surat, Gujarat, said an official statement. Surat is India’s largest textile hub and one of the 100 cities chosen by the central government to be developed as a ‘Smart City’.

MG Motor has already announced plans to enhance the national charging ecosystem with 25kW, 30 kW, 50 kW and 60 kW DC superfast charging stations. Till now, the carmaker which has an EV offering with its MG Hector model, in partnership with charge point operators like Fortum, claims to have installed 44 superfast charging stations across 41 Indian cities across its dealer networks- “the highest by any Auto OEM.”

Compatible with CCS fast-charging standard vehicles, the Surat charging station will offer a seamless charging experience to all compatible EV customers, say the companies. MG ZS EV – “India’s first pure electric internet SUV” – can apparently be charged from 0 to 80% in 40 minutes with the superfast charging station.

Seeking to jointly build a CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric) ecosystem, MG Motor and Finnish renewable energy player Fortum announced their partnership in 2019. Since then, the companies claim to have built a network of 13 DC chargers across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mohali, Surat, and Ahmedabad.

Mr. Awadhesh Kumar Jha, Executive Director, Fortum Charge & Drive India, said, “We are happy to extend our partnership with one of the leading automotive companies to further bolster the super-fast charging network in the country. With this charger on Fortum Charge & Drive network, an EV user can travel between Ahmedabad and Surat without any range anxiety as both the cities have Fortum chargers.”

“The ZS EV’s availability in more cities in a phase-wise manner is a step closer to achieving sustainability goals. After launching the ZS EV in 6 more cities in 2021, the MG ZS EV is now available across 37 Indian cities,” added Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India.

The spread of charging stations across tier 1 and 2 cities and beyond is a welcome  process, as it will continue to remove obstacles to a faster spread of EV mobility across these regions. From dependable power, to availability of charging stations including fast charging has been a pre-requisite for growth of the overall EV movement.