IOCL petrol pumps to sell vehicle batteries in new marketing push

IOCL's 'tyre battery accessories' marketing concept aims to make its 36,000 pumps one stop shop for vehicle owners.

Vehicle batteries of a Gurgaon-based company will be available for sale and servicing at more than 36,000 IOCL petrol pumps in India, the oil marketing company announced on Thursday.

The batteries will be produced by the Indian arm of Tesla Power USA, a vehicle battery manufacturer. The company is unrelated to American automotive and clean energy giant Tesla Inc, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

Tesla Power USA and IOCL, the state-run oil marketing company (OMC), said the "national strategic alliance" will bring innovation in battery distribution and sales in India.

The batteries will be available initially at IOCL fuel pumps in the Delhi-NCR region and later sold in other states. IOCL, the largest OMC in India, said the strategic partnership represents a crucial component of achieving net zero emissions, and the transition to a more sustainable transportation system with distribution of advanced and much reliable batteries.

The partnership is part of the Tyre Battery Accessories (TBA) concept developed by IOCL which aims to position the company's petrol pumps as the one stop destination for any urgent or regular battery replacement or purchase, said Vigyan Kumar, executive director at IOCL.

This is the first time that automotive batteries will be available on a large scale at petrol pumps (in India), similar to markets in the West, said Kavinder Khurana, managing director of Tesla Power USA. "Tesla Power USA currently has over 5000 distribution points in India that we aim to double in 2023. The addition of IOCL petrol pumps can potentially offer Tesla Power USA distribution reach of over 40,000; the largest for any battery brand in India," he said.

According to the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), India's battery market would develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent from 2021 to 2026, Khurana said.

"With the EV market growing at an impressive CAGR of 49 percent, fuel pumps must be well-equipped and ready for the transition. By 2030, there will be around 1 crore EV scooters alone on Indian roads. Tesla Power USA offers both lead-acid batteries and Lithium batteries, to cater to all segments of vehicles,” he said.