Bolt is actively exploring collaborations to white label and retail its specialised electric vehicle (EV) charging socket. Whether the start-up will white label these sockets and become a supplier to original equipment manufacturers and others involved in the EV ecosystem will depend on the ‘minimum order quantity factor.
Mohit Yadav, Co-founder, Bolt, talking to Mobility Outlook, said that white labelled sockets will also need to be listed on the Bolt app. Notably, the start-up has already set up close to 15,000 charging points in India.
The start-up has launched a specialised IoT-enabled socket, 'Bolt Lite', for EV chargers in India. Priced at INR 2,599, the socket works with chargers for electric two/three-wheelers and four-wheelers.
“Each and every Bolt Lite socket installed and listed on the Bolt App will increase the number of charging points on our EV charging network,” Yadav said.
The start-up is open to listing these 'privately installed' sockets on its EV charging network. Owners can then list the sockets as 'public' as per their convenience and allow other EV owners to use the same in return for a fee pre-decided by the owner. Making these sockets public or private can be done using the Bolt app available on the Android and Apple ecosystems.
“Bolt Lite socket owners will be able to start a passive source of income. It will be in the hands of the owner to make the socket public or private,' Yadav explained.
Sales From B2B Network
Apart from the white label business, the company is also setting up its sales channel and collaborating with automobile showrooms to drive sales for the socket. Yadav is confident that most sales will occur in the B2B vertical. The start-up has also started accepting orders for the same via its website. Bolt had recently announced its collaboration with Hero Electric and Blive.
None of the EV OEMs supplies specialised sockets; instead, they offer normal 15A sockets, which can deteriorate the quality of batteries, he said.
'The Bolt socket not only ensures surge protection, auto cutoff and temperature increase cutoff but it can also be enabled to make sure that no one other than the owner can charge a vehicle using a particular charger,' Yadav said.
The start-up has so far raised $4.5 million in funding from Union Square Ventures & Prime Venture Partners and has offices in Bangalore & Singapore.
EV sales in India have witnessed one of the biggest YoY growths in 2022. According to a report by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), India's electric vehicle market is expected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate of 49% between 2021-2030, and the segment's volumes are set to cross annual sales of 17 million by 2030.
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