Okinawa partners Welectric, Bajaj Chetak, Mercedes EQS, Tesla Opportunity in India and more

This week’s EV News Wrap Includes Okinawa partners Welectric, Bajaj Chetak, Mercedes EQS, Tesla Opportunity in India and more

Okinawa partners with electric two wheelers rental firm Welectric

Okinawa Autotech has partnered with electric two-wheelers lease rental firm Welectric to work with companies involved in last-mile delivery operations to help them switch their delivery fleet to electric vehicles. Welectric already has a fleet of over 150 electric two-wheelers and plans to scale it up to over 2,000 in the next 12 months. With this partnership, it will procure electric scooters from Okinawa, including the latest – Okinawa Dual, a customisable B2B electric two-wheeler.

Bajaj Auto stopped accepting new bookings for its Chetak electric scooter

Bajaj Auto has stopped accepting new bookings for its Chetak electric scooter within 48 hours of opening the window on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa on April 13 report Times Of India. The company was accepting bookings for Chetak from customers based in Bengaluru and Pune only.

Mercedes lock horns with Tesla with its flagship electric car

Daimler AG recently unleashed electric “sibling” of its flagship Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan, locking horns to market-leader Tesla Inc in the battle for market share as electric car sales take off. The EQS is the first in a family of Mercedes-Benz cars built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from the ground up. It will go on sale in Europe and the United States in August, then in China in January.

Golden opportunity for Tesla to set up its manufacturing facility in India says Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari recently said electric car major Tesla has a golden opportunity to set up its manufacturing facility in India given the country’s thrust on e-vehicles. Tesla is already sourcing various auto components from Indian automakers and setting up base here would be economically viable for it, road transport, highways and MSMEs minister Gadkari said while addressing a session at the Raisina Dialogue.

Chinese automaker Geely eyes piece of premium electric car market with launch of Zeekr

Chinese automaker Geely, owner of Volvo Cars targets slice of premium electric car market  with the launch of a high-end electric vehicle (EV) brand named Zeekr, targeting China’s growing appetite for premium EVs that has boosted sales for Tesla and Chinese peer Nio.  The price tags for Zeekr cars will be around 300,000 yuan, and the brand will explore new sales and marketing methods, including allowing customers to subscribe to car-using rights and offering a stake in the company to car buyers.

Hyundai Motor planning to launch electric vehicles in China every year starting 2022

Hyundai Motor Group is planning to launch electric vehicles (EVs) in China every year starting 2022 to enhance its presence in the world’s biggest car market. The company said it plans to unveil a total of 21 EV models from Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp by 2030, including hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.

Etrio to supply 100 Touro three-wheelers to Zypp Electric

Electric vehicle maker Etrio has announced it will initially supply 100 units of its Touro brand of electric-three-wheelers to logistics startup Zypp Electric for last mile delivery, and scale it up to 1,000 units in the next 6-8 months, under a recent partnership.

South Korea to set global standards for EV wireless charging

South Korea recently said that it will ramp up efforts to promote a homegrown charging technology for electric vehicles (EVs) as an international standard, as the country plans to penetrate deeper into the growing sector.

Clear, long term policies needed for growth of electric vehicle sector says CEEW-CEF

According to CEEW Centre for Energy Finance, Central and state governments need to reduce uncertainty and roll out clear long term policies to enable growth of the electric vehicle sector in the country, the organization also said that the authorities need to work towards reducing the high upfront cost of electric vehicles (EVs) and enhancing charging infrastructure.

Delhi will soon have more than 10,000 chargers by December said transport minister

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot speaking on conclusion of the fifth week of the switch Delhi campaign said that the Government has taken a lead across India in installing sound charging infrastructure in Delhi for a smooth transition to Electric Vehicles. He added Delhi will soon have more than 10,000 chargers by December. All commercial and institutional buildings that have a parking capacity of more than 100 vehicles will soon have to set aside at least five per cent of their total parking capacity for EVs along with suitable slow EV chargers.