Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India, has announced plans to install 500 charging stations. The strategic move will help the state expand its network to close to 2,000 charging stations.
The Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), a government enterprise helping the state to transition to clean renewable energy, is taking the initiative to set up the 500 charging stations. It has formed an agreement with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to gain technical support. Teams from both agencies visited New Delhi last week to understand the national capital’s way of promoting EVs and implement lessons back home.
Based on the lessons learned from New Delhi’s EV initiatives, Tamil Nadu plans to create not only a wide network of charging stations but also a robust battery swapping infrastructure. TNGECL will establish 19 charging stations in the state capital, Chennai, and ten of these locations will offer even battery swapping, Managing Director Dr Aneesh Sekhar told The New Indian Express. It shortlisted the potential locations and is conducting a feasibility study with the assistance of ITDP to proceed further.
As per the guidelines of India’s Ministry of Power, the country should offer at least one public charging station every 25 kilometres on highways. Accordingly, TNGECL plans to set up 20 charging stations along the Chennai-Coimbatore and Chennai-Kanniyakumari highways.
Talking about the current charging infrastructure in Tamil Nadu, Sekhar said the state offers approximately 1,300 charging stations. TNGECL is developing a digital map to help EV drivers locate charging stations near them with ease, he added. The state is also trying to help private landowners connect with potential tenants who want to set up EV charging stations, potentially including charge point operators (CPOs) directly, by developing a special online platform.
Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in India in EV adoption. According to a report from Autocar Professional, it ranked fourth in EV sales in FY2025 (April 2024-March 2025), contributing 137,699 units or 7 per cent to the national total of 1,965,490 units. The state is also actively promoting itself as an EV manufacturing hub and already hosts factories of leading EV brands like Ola Electric, TVS Motor Company, and Ather Energy. Later this week, VinFast will inaugurate its first local EV plant in Thoothukudi, a port city in the southern part of the state.
newindianexpress.com, autocarpro.in
