Q: India is the first country outside of Europe where you are operating. Why this entry?

Jha: The Indian market is different from the Nordic and European markets, and it is the first country outside Europe, where Fortum entered the electric vehicle charging space in 2017. We have integrated a couple of Indian chargers into our system and this enables us to deploy ‘Made in India’ chargers to our network. This will give our customers the freedom to choose the chargers, their availability, price and other benefits.

Fortum established its first charging station in New Delhi in 2017. Its services in India include owning charging infrastructure, operating other’s charging infrastructure network using Fortum’s own cloud-based charging system and selling Fortum’s proven off-the-shelf cloud system to other operators to manage charging infrastructure in the B2B segment. 

Q: How do you see and predict the EV market in India?

Jha:  India will benefit from the global growth of EV technologies and can reach a maturity stage faster than in other countries. As Tesla did for the US market, start-ups in India are poised to promote the adoption of EVs. Free from any legacy baggage, they are able to offer pure electric vehicles as is evident on the road, particularly in the two and three-wheeler sector. Traditional OEMs also are trying to hold on to their market share. Hyundai has taken the lead by introducing Kona. The electric version of Maruti cars can be seen on the road though in test mode. More than ten models of electric vehicles are slated for launch in the next 12-18 months. Tata Motors has announced plans to introduce more models of the electric variant. Mahindra promises to launch KUV 100 and SUV 300 with the electric powertrain. With India poised to become the third-largest auto market in the world, none of the players would like to miss this great opportunity.

With more and more renewable energy being fed into the grid, the use of EVs will provide the flexible load to balance the system. 

Q: What are the fundamental differences between India and Europe in terms of vehicle requirements and charging infrastructure?

Jha: India and Europe share a common requirement in the automobile space. India generally follows the European automotive emission norms as Euro 6. Europe started the EV journey with high voltage system cars like Nissan Leaf, which warrants a different set of chargers to offer good customer experience. Starting from 50kW DC chargers, Europe has moved to high power charging capacity of 350kW in DC mode which brings down the charging time to about 10 minutes for a 150-200km range. On the AC side in public charging, it has a network of 22kW chargers which offer semi-fast charging to most of the vehicles. The 3.3 kW AC chargers are generally deployed at home and parking places.

India, on the other hand, has a different vehicle composition. Most of its EVs are two and three-wheelers which have a different kind of charging need. They are currently dominated by lead-acid batteries. In the four-wheeler passenger car segment also, India started with a unique product. The available cars are on low voltage battery system, which requires a different set of chargers – 15/20 kW power in DC mode. They need longer charging time than their counterparts in Europe where a car with almost double the size of battery can get charged in nearly half the charging time than in India. Now, a few OEMs have started selling high voltage system cars which would require 50kW charging infrastructure. 

Another significant difference between Europe and India is the need for public charging. Most of the European countries have single-family low-rise homes with garage whereas Indian cities like Delhi have mostly unorganised street parking. This fundamentally alters the need of charging infrastructure in India. While in Europe home charging would be dominating, India will need public charging as the dominant mode.

Q: Charging infrastructure and time is probably the biggest hindrance in the adaptation of EVs in India? How do you find opportunities in this area?

Jha: Three major interdependent stakeholders influence the evolvement of EVs in any country. They are: automobile manufacturers, battery manufacturers, and charging infrastructure providers. Given the limited use of e-vehicles in India now, the infrastructure for the same is also at a very nascent stage. The lack of sufficient infrastructure could be the most common reason for the range concern that directly affects the consumer behaviour and potential of EV sales in India. However, from the operators’ point of view, it is difficult to invest in charging infrastructure without an existing demand for charging services.

India will need ubiquitous public charging networks. India needs millions of charging points once all cars sales happen on the electric platform. This offers huge opportunity for both the private and the public sectors. However, considering the space constraint and inadequate electricity infrastructure, setting up such a massive network of public charging will be a demanding task. Government support will be required in making locations available for this purpose if we have to roll out a good network of charging stations. 

For EVs to be acceptable, consumers have to be assured of the availability of charging stations like fuel stations for ICE vehicles. A robust charging station network would give them confidence, and that would work as a pull effect on OEMs. 

Q: India is a vast country. How are you going to identify and target the regions or pockets where EV adaptation will be faster?

Jha: As it happens with any new technological product, initially EV will be adopted by innovators or early adopters. We expect that these vehicles will be adopted mostly in cities with the highest per capita income. We operate now in five cities: Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. We have 66 DC public charging points. Since the launch of our DC fast-charging stations in Hyderabad, we have seen positive adoption of electric vehicles by customers. We have more than 900 registered users, and more than 1500 customers have downloaded our mobile app. These are smart chargers which are unmanned and give freedom to the consumer to charge their vehicles at the location of their choice, and at their convenience.

Q: Do you think public utility places would play a more prominent role in increasing the number of EV charging stations? Could you highlight Fortum India’s partnership with Indian Oil?

Jha: We provide our bit in creating reliable and smart charging infrastructure. Our first DC fast public charging station in Hyderabad came up at IOC COCO retail outlet at Begumpet. We are operating 16 charging points at eight retail outlets of IOC in Hyderabad. We demonstrated our capability of operating smart chargers by unveiling the charging of Mahindra e2oplus remotely from Hotel ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad, using Fortum Charge & Drive Mobile App.

Q: How many EV charging stations has Fortum India set up so far, and what is the immediate target?

Jha: Fortum has made 66 DC Fast charging points operational in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. Fortum Charge & Drive also offers a cloud solution to EV charging service providers and infrastructure investors.

Recently, we have established India’s first public charging network of 50 kW DC chargers at dealership locations of MG Motors. Any car owner can access these stations if the car is compatible with CCS/CHAdeMO standards. We are continuously evaluating opportunities across the country.

Q: How do you see the role of the stakeholders such as charging station infrastructure manufacturers, energy companies and operators in the growth of EV adoption?

Jha: Each stakeholder has a role to play in EV adoption in India. It is important to note that it is the vehicle and its battery system which determines the charging infrastructure need, not otherwise. The charging standards or capacity of chargers or time of charging, and everything is dependent on the design of the battery and its management system adopted by the OEMs. Charging manufacturers and operators follow the demand. In charging ecosystem, manufacturer caters to the supply side by offering his product which can be put to use by charge point operators at strategic locations. Energy distribution companies also have a critical role to play. EV charging, particularly public charging in DC mode, requires high capacity which might need augmentation of electricity infrastructure. Energy to Charge Point Operators (CPOs) should be provided at a reasonable price so that end-consumers can charge their vehicles at affordable prices. Efforts of all these stakeholders have to get aligned.

Q: What have been the ground-level challenges for Fortum India?

Jha: Access to a suitable location and electricity supply is a major challenge. The number of EVs initially will be less, so also the business for the Charge Point Operators. It will be more challenging if CPOs have to pay rent for the space or bear any upfront cost on electricity infrastructure. So it is expected that these two parts would be taken care of by the government or partners to make EVs affordable for the customers.

Q: Being in the EV charging station space, what do you expect from the government?

Jha: For the manufacture of EVs and the growth of the industry, the government introduced the FAME scheme. It would also support the manufacturing of advanced batteries which will accelerate the adoption of EVs by bringing down the cost of the battery. Tax reduction is a significant boost for the consumer as it would push the EV price to inch towards ICE vehicle price. 

Creating a robust and smart charging network should be the focus. Although through FAME-II the government has called for proposals on the setting up of 1000 electric vehicle charging stations in the country, this is not enough. Consumers would like to have charging points at their preferred locations, time, and price to avoid range anxiety. This requires a robust, ubiquitous, and friendly charging network of stations. As charging takes more time than gasoline refuelling, the consumer would like to find a charging station in an exciting place where he would feel happy to spend time while the vehicle gets charged.

We have to add lakhs of charging points year after year if in future all vehicles sold are electric. This would require access to space, which is scarce, particularly in urban areas. Augmented electricity infrastructure would be needed at the local network level even though at the national level this will not be significant. So if the government finds some ways to offer space and upgrades electricity connections on the plug-and-play mode to CPOs it will give a boost to the creation of charging infrastructure. 

EV charging would be a different proposition. Unlike oil and CNG, this has interdependency of battery and electricity. Appropriate communication is needed between battery and charger, and charge and grid, to ensure safety and reliability to the vehicle and grid. This necessitates that charging infrastructure must be smart. This would also warrant a smart grid. What is needed is a greater and urgent push towards upgradation and strengthening of both electricity and charging infrastructure. (MT)

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Delhi NCR-headquartered electric vehicle company Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) has partnered Electra AI to integrate battery health monitoring across its fleet operations.

The collaboration incorporates Electra AI’s analytics platform into OSM’s electric commercial vehicles. The technology enables real-time tracking, predictive maintenance and state-of-health diagnostics for battery packs. The data metrics aim to support warranty management, optimise vehicle uptime, assist financing assessments and provide residual value tracking for secondary market sales.

Uday Narang, Founder and Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility, said, "The next phase of EV growth in India will not be driven solely by new vehicle sales, but by the creation of a credible and thriving secondary market. Battery health is the single biggest determinant of an EV's residual value, and until that can be measured transparently, the used EV market will remain constrained. Through our partnership with Electra AI, we are bringing unprecedented visibility into battery performance, enabling buyers, financiers, and fleet operators to make informed decisions with confidence. This will help improve resale values, unlock greater access to financing, and accelerate the adoption of electric mobility by ensuring that EVs remain valuable assets throughout their lifecycle."

Vivek Dhawan, Chief Strategy Officer, Omega Seiki Mobility, said, “As electric mobility scales, the industry must move beyond selling vehicles and focus on delivering intelligence that improves asset performance throughout its life. By integrating Electra AI's advanced analytics into our ecosystem, we will gain deeper operational insights that help enhance fleet productivity, reduce unplanned downtime, strengthen warranty management, and support data-driven product development. This collaboration represents an important step towards building a smarter, more efficient, and technology-led mobility ecosystem that creates tangible value for customers, partners, and stakeholders alike."

Fabrizio Martini, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Electra AI, stated: “Vehicle makers like OSM are being asked to put more capable, more affordable EVs on the road every year — and to stand behind them with confidence. Our AI Brain for Batteries platform gives them the real-world intelligence to do exactly that: design better vehicles, offer stronger assurance to their customers, and keep fleets running. That’s what battery intelligence is for — turning data into trust across the whole ecosystem, from the OEM to the financier to the operator.”

The deployment aims to support commercial fleet operators across India by reducing maintenance delays and improving total cost of ownership visibility.

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Hyundai Motor India, in partnership with Radio Mirchi, has launched the Hyundai Traffic Quality Index, a standardised traffic rating framework designed to convey real-time road conditions across seven major Indian cities. The initiative operates across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata.

The system translates live traffic inputs, on-ground reports and official traffic police advisories into a numerical scale from 1 to 10. The ratings are categorised into three colour-coded tiers: 1 to 3 represented in green for light traffic, 4 to 7 in yellow for moderate traffic and 8 to 10 in red for heavy congestion. Updates are broadcast over Radio Mirchi’s audio network to inform drivers during commutes without requiring direct interaction with mobile devices.

The system processes real-time location data alongside updates regarding road closures, diversions, and civic works. Hyundai Motor India and Radio Mirchi plan to expand the index to additional urban centres in subsequent phases of the project.

Virat Khullar, Head of Marketing, Hyundai Motor India, said, “At Hyundai, our commitment to road safety has always extended beyond the vehicle itself. For over three decades in India, we have continuously invested in technologies and initiatives that make mobility safer and smarter. With the Hyundai Traffic Quality Index, we are taking that commitment a step further by empowering commuters with actionable information. We believe informed and technology enabled decisions lead to safer roads, calmer driving behaviour and better commuting experience. Our vision is for Hyundai Traffic Quality Index to evolve into a daily utility that millions of Indians rely on, much like they check the weather or the Air Quality Index before stepping out.”

Yatish Mehrishi, Chief Executive Officer, ENIL, said, “Radio has always been a trusted companion for people on the move. With the Traffic Quality Index, we are taking that relationship a step further by making traffic information simpler, more consistent and more useful for everyday commuters. Our presence across cities, supported by our RJs, on-ground teams and real-time local insights, gives us a unique understanding of how people experience their daily commute. TQI brings these insights together in an easy-to-understand format that can help people make better decisions on the road. We are delighted to partner with Hyundai to build a public utility that can make urban commuting smarter and safer. It is a strong example of how media, technology and local intelligence can come together to solve an everyday consumer need.”

ACP Ravindra Pandit of Delhi Traffic Police, added, “The Hyundai Traffic Quality Index is a commendable initiative that empowers us to keep commuters informed about congestion, diversions, and other traffic-related issues on specific routes. By receiving timely and accurate updates, motorists can make informed decisions and opt for alternate routes, reducing inconvenience and easing congestion. Timely dissemination of reliable traffic information benefits both the public and traffic authorities, making overall traffic management more efficient and commuter-friendly.”

Anil Patil, Regional Transport Officer for Mumbai West, commented, “Understanding and managing traffic more effectively has become increasingly important today. TQI will help us better understand traffic conditions, improve awareness among citizens, and provide valuable support in making traffic management more efficient.”

IPS Manoj Patil, Additional Commissioner of Police for Pune City, said, “Traffic Quality Index can give the traffic police a different kind of study and analysis. Especially because it will include inputs and suggestions coming directly from citizens. So, we will get an independent understanding of the actual traffic situation. I feel this can be extremely useful for us while planning future traffic management as well as infrastructure projects. So, I really welcome this initiative If we are able to measure the traffic quality index in this manner, it will definitely have an overall impact on our deployment and the way we manage traffic.”

Dr B. Shamoondeswari, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) for Greater Chennai Police, said: “Just like AQI helps us understand air quality, TQI will help us understand traffic quality. It’s a great initiative that can make people more aware, help manage congestion, and contribute towards smoother traffic movement in our cities.”

ACP A. Krishnaiah of LB Nagar Traffic Police in Hyderabad noted: “The Hyundai Traffic Quality Index is a valuable initiative that helps commuters stay updated on traffic congestion, diversions, and other route-related issues. Access to timely and reliable traffic information enables motorists to plan their journeys better and choose alternative routes when required. This not only reduces travel inconvenience but also helps ease traffic congestion. Overall, the initiative supports both commuters and traffic authorities by making traffic management more effective, responsive, and commuter-friendly.”

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Open-source autonomous driving software company TIER IV has joined the Next-Generation Edge AI Semiconductor Research and Development Programme, led by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The initiative focuses on the development of a software-defined system-on-chip (SoC) designed for Level 4 autonomous driving applications.

As part of the programme, a team led by Professor Yoshihiro Kawahara at the University of Tokyo is researching physical AI chip design based on specific use cases. Concurrently, TIER IV is developing the logic design for an AI chip aimed at processing inference for end-to-end autonomous driving systems. TIER IV plans to open-source the resulting logic design, compiler, and software toolchain to allow semiconductor manufacturers and developers to modify and build upon the hardware architecture.

The project focuses on developing hardware architectures tailored for Transformer AI models, which process sensor data from cameras and point clouds for perception and motion planning.

The chip design incorporates dedicated circuits for matrix multiplication and attention mechanisms, aiming to reduce power consumption from external memory transfers. To maintain software adaptability, TIER IV is integrating the Tensor Operator Set Architecture (TOSA) as an intermediate representation layer between AI frameworks such as PyTorch and the chip hardware.

The initiative also applies formal verification techniques to mathematically trace numerical consistency during AI model compilation.

Shinpei Kato, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TIER IV, said, “Advances in AI have been accelerated by powerful computing platforms, including GPUs, which have enabled rapid progress across the industry. As Level 4 autonomous driving moves toward broader deployment, we believe the next step is to complement these platforms with computing architectures designed for real-world and real-time requirements. Through this initiative, we are introducing a software-defined and open approach to AI chip design that combines power efficiency, adaptability, transparency and verifiability. In particular, the ability to understand how an AI model is transformed for execution and to verify the correctness of that processing will be increasingly important as autonomous driving systems are deployed in safety-critical environments. By extending the open-source philosophy behind Autoware from software to AI chip design and related toolchains, we aim to create an open ecosystem in which automakers, semiconductor manufacturers and developers can build upon the technology and continue advancing their own systems. This represents an important step toward a scalable, adaptable and reliable computing foundation for Level 4 autonomous driving.”

Professor Yoshihiro Kawahara stated, “In physical AI applications such as robotics and autonomous driving, GPU power consumption has long been a major bottleneck for deployment on battery-powered devices. This project aims to fundamentally overcome this constraint through a functionally differentiated chip design backward-mapped from specific use cases. I look forward to TIER IV developing chips responsible for high-level decision-making – specifically, the high-level behavioural layer that handles the thinking process essential for end-to-end physical AI and autonomous driving. As the leading force behind Autoware, the global standard open-source software for autonomous driving, TIER IV is democratising design, with an approach spanning application requirements to hardware. This enables applied researchers to shape their ideal semiconductors. This initiative, supported by an open ecosystem, has the potential to lay the foundations for a steady stream of Japanese startups creating high-value semiconductors.”

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American automotive supplier Stoneridge, Inc. has announced details of its EVO ECU Platform, which will debut at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, Germany.

The electronic control unit (ECU) is engineered for commercial vehicles, buses, coaches and off-highway applications to consolidate system architecture and support software-defined capabilities.

The platform replaces multiple individual control units with a centralised processing architecture designed to manage vehicle data, enable remote software updates and facilitate diagnostics.

The ECU is developed in collaboration with technology partner Renesas Electronics using its R-Car system-on-chip technology and the hardware is built to withstand operating conditions involving temperature variations, vibration and dust exposure.

Christian Leblanc, Global Vice-President of Product and Project Management, Stoneridge, said, “Commercial vehicles are becoming increasingly connected and intelligent, but traditional vehicle architectures were not designed to support the pace of innovation happening today. EVO provides a scalable platform that helps simplify integration, improve vehicle performance and give our customers the flexibility they need to adapt as technology continues to evolve.”

“Fleet customers were at the centre of our development process. EVO helps enable faster troubleshooting, fewer service interruptions and the ability to continuously improve vehicle capabilities throughout the vehicle lifecycle,” added Leblanc.

The software structure was developed alongside Green Hills Software to segregate safety-critical operations while allowing system updates. Additionally, Stoneridge partnered with indie Semiconductor to produce the platform's image processor, supporting camera integration and driver assistance systems.

Natalia Noblet, President and CEO, Stoneridge, said, “Our industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by increasing connectivity, automation and evolving regulatory requirements. EVO represents our commitment to helping customers navigate that transformation with a flexible platform designed to support innovation today and tomorrow.”

Aish Dubey, Vice-President and Head of the HPC SoC Division, Renesas Electronics, commented, “Stoneridge’s EVO ECU Platform demonstrates how commercial-vehicle manufacturers can modernise vehicle electronics for demanding operating environments. Our collaboration brings together Stoneridge’s commercial-vehicle expertise and Renesas’ R-Car system-on-chip, power-management and programmable mixed-signal technologies to create a scalable, automotive-grade foundation for connected and software-defined commercial vehicles.”

The system has undergone field testing within the Stoneridge Innovation Truck demonstrator vehicle, which will be exhibited alongside the platform at the Hanover trade show.

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