Macquarie Capital has acquired a “substantial minority stake” in ChargeZone, a Vadodara-based company specializing in high-speed electric vehicle (EV) charging networks.
The specifics of the stake and the investment amount remain undisclosed.
This move is set to boost ChargeZone’s efforts in expanding its cloud technology-enabled EV charging network, aligning with India’s growing focus on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
ChargeZone’s founder and CEO, Kartikey Hariyani, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Macquarie Capital, highlighting its potential to drive positive change in India’s electric vehicle ecosystem.
Ivan Varughese, senior managing director at Macquarie Capital, emphasized the investment’s role in advancing electric transportation infrastructure and contributing to India’s decarbonization efforts.
Currently, ChargeZone operates over 3,500 charging points across more than 1,500 EV charging stations in 37 cities, covering over 20,000 km of highways. With ambitions to reach 1 million charging points by 2030, ChargeZone is poised for significant expansion in the EV market.
The investment reflects a broader trend of increasing investor interest in India’s electric vehicle and charging infrastructure sector, spurred by government initiatives and incentives under the FAME II scheme, aimed at encouraging adoption of electric vehicles in the country.
A CII report from July highlighted the need for at least 1.3 million charging stations by 2030 to support the expected rise in EV usage. According to the report, to maintain a 1:40 ratio of charging infrastructure to EVs, India would need to install over 400,000 chargers annually, totaling 1.32 million chargers by 2030.
