Honda Motor and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have partnered to set up battery swapping stations for electric vehicles at the state-owned oil firm's petrol pumps.

According to a statement released by the state-owned company on Tuesday, HPCL and Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd, a division of Honda Motor Co Ltd (Honda), unveiled their first "e: swap" station at an HPCL gas station in Bengaluru on August 6.

With the quick uptake of environmentally friendly electric cars (EVs) powered by electricity-charged batteries, infrastructure is being built nationwide to either provide facilities for charging such vehicles or to replace drained batteries with fully charged ones.

Even if filling up with gasoline or diesel is faster, battery swapping provides a speedier option.
Customers may swap out their used batteries for fully charged ones at e: swap stations in about two minutes, according to the statement. The Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model also enables users to borrow batteries independently of the cars. Giving the battery away reduces the upfront cost of buying an EV. Currently, the swapping station at HPCL's Old Airport Road location will serve e-3 wheelers.

The announcement read, "In a year, the garden city of Bengaluru will have more than 70 such e: exchange Stations, after which other cities would be taken up."

Sandeep Maheshwari, Executive Director - Retail, HPCL, spoke at the event and pledged the company's commitment to hastening India's transition to cleaner energy.

"With 1,058 EV charging stations at our retail locations around the nation, we are one of the largest charge point operators in the country. Today, in collaboration with HEID, we are announcing another effort that will change the game," he said.

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