India is the world’s largest two-wheeler (2W) and three-wheeler (3W) market, selling 17.5 million and 1.2 million vehicles respectively in FY24.¹ Carbon emissions from these vehicles constitute as much as 30% of total transport emissions in the country.²

This comes as growing demand for passenger last mile-connectivity and rapid growth in the e-commerce sector further increases the demand for 3Ws and B2B 2Ws. Emissions produced by road transport are growing faster than any other sector.² As India transitions toward a low carbon economy, reducing the carbon emissions from road transport is paramount, but must be balanced with enabling mobility for the nation’s growing population, including business owners and workers for whom these vehicles are an income-generating asset. Electric vehicles hold great promise to cut transport emissions, led by 2Ws and 3Ws which are expected to see significant progress in their transition to EVs by 2030.²

As with most global markets in the developed and developing world, Indians’ greatest anxiety in switching to EVs remains the lack of charging infrastructure, followed by other concerns like upfront cost, safety, and driving range.⁴ In dense urban areas, home EV charging infrastructure is complex to install due to limited parking space and building constraints which can lead to significant income losses if EV users have to wait at charging stations to recharge their vehicles. Even with access to charging, the high upfront and financing costs for EVs remain significant barriers to ownership, with the battery accounting for ~40% of total EV cost.⁵

Despite the essential need for low-carbon mobility and its carbon abatement potential, the adoption of electric mobility remains lower than it could be. Efficient and accessible charging infrastructure will be a significant enabler.

Battery Smart is India’s largest battery-swapping network for electric 2Ws and 3Ws. For every vehicle added to its network, the company helps to avoid three tonnes of carbon.⁵

Since launching in 2020, Battery Smart has reached ~45,000 2W and 3W riders by expanding a network of ~1,000 battery swapping stations across ~30 cities in India with ~120,000 batteries in circulation. To date, they have completed ~35 million swaps, reducing ownership costs of EVs by as much as 30% compared to traditional charging and increasing daily net earning potential by up to 40% due to increased driving range.⁶

Battery Smart has achieved Pan-India scale by standardising its technology which can be seamlessly adopted across multiple original equipment manufacturers’ vehicles, ensuring its model is truly plug and play. The company’s strong focus on hardware design, coupled with a proprietary software tech stack and deep understanding of data analytics has enabled Battery Smart to remain agile towards technology improvements in India’s rapidly-growing EV market.

Battery Smart’s open charging network scales through small enterprise owners, also called “station partners”, around the country who are interested to join the network on the back of attractive return-generating ability on their investment within three years. These station partners are rapidly trained and equipped to open new charging stations, and seamlessly integrated into the Battery Smart app, which is used by customers to locate and swap their batteries.

The uncoupling of prohibitively expensive batteries from the purchase price of an EV means that Battery Smart’s service has made EVs more affordable for low-income consumers than ever before. Once behind the wheel, riders can increase their daily drive range by as much as 30% with minimal downtime, unlocking greater earnings. In addition, Battery Smart is actively promoting a diverse and inclusive ecosystem by encouraging women riders to access its affordable and reliable network through incentive schemes.