A growing number of developers in India are putting electric vehicle chargers in the parking lots of new developments, hoping to boost property values and attract more buyers in a country where charging infrastructure can't keep up with the growth in electric car sales.
While EVs accounted for just 2.4 percent of India's vehicle sales in the first half of this year, sales of electric vehicles rose 137 percent to 48,000 units in the same period, research firm Canalys said. The world's most populous country aims for electric cars to make up a third of all vehicle sales by 2030, but a lack of public charging stations could derail those goals.
According to the Department of Energy, there are currently 435 electric cars for every public charging station nationwide, compared to 26 electric cars per charger in the United States, according to data from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
For now, property developers including Sobha, and property management firm Prestige, are using this shortage to their advantage, betting that EV chargers in residential properties will make clients pay a premium for units like swimming pools used to in the past.
"People considering purchasing EVs want assurance that they will have access to charging facilities within the residential complex," said Javed Shafiq Rao, senior vice president and head of property management at Prestige, which is investing more in properties with EV chargers.
Sobha has gone a step further and launched two residential projects in Bengaluru with EV charging facilities in all available parking slots. Other developers betting on the trend include Mahindra Lifespace, Kolte-Patil, Brigade and DLF.
