Situated in Sector 81, Gurugram, this electric vehicle charging station was once India’s largest. Today, it is operating at barely one-fourth of its capacity and is in visibly poor condition. Developed by Alektrify, the facility is far from what one would expect of a modern EV charging station. The paint has chipped off from the entrance gate, several charging points lie vacant, and only a handful of vehicles can be seen charging at any given time.
The Alektrify facility is a fast-charging station, which essentially means that an average vehicle takes about an hour to charge here, compared to six to seven hours at regular charging stations. “This station can charge 200 vehicles in an hour, however at present only 50 are being charged on an hourly basis,” informed Ajay, a worker at the charging station.
According to Ajay, the station earlier catered almost exclusively to electric cab-hailing platform BluSmart, which used the facility to charge its taxi fleet. However, following the controversy surrounding the company, the station saw a sharp decline in utilisation. He added that after the controversy, the station went empty and was forced to shut down for about eight months.
BluSmart came under the scanner after the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cracked down on its co-founder over alleged misuse of funds at an affiliated company. The charging station may have resumed operations in December 2025, but the financial fallout continues. BluSmart owes Alektrify dues amounting to ₹2.5 crore, which includes an electricity bill of nearly ₹60 lakh.
During the period when the facility was shut, the station also suffered losses on the ground. A transformer worth nearly ₹20 lakh was stolen from the premises.
According to a local resident in the vicinity of the charging station, who did not wish to be named, “A transport company has taken over the station and is charging its trucks at the station.” Team Enersider did observe several trucks being charged at the facility during its visit. However, Alektrify has denied that any other company has taken over the station.
“This charging station is very much ours and we are the ones operating it. Earlier this facility was for 100% captive use by BluSmart, now we are revamping it into a facility that will be 70% for captive use and 30% for retail use,” said Parveen Kumar, Founder and Managing Director, Alektrify Pvt Ltd.
Retail use, he explained, would primarily cater to individual vehicle owners who want to use the charging services at the station.
The BluSmart cars that were earlier charged at the facility have reportedly been brought in by banks in order to recover outstanding finances. It is learnt that banks have asked Alektrify to remove the BluSmart branding from the vehicles and sell them in the market.
The Gurugram charging station was opened in March 2022 and was India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the time. Alektrify Private Limited developed the facility under the Ease of Doing Business programme.
At the time of opening, it was said these charging stations were commercially and technically competing with petrol pumps. According to him, the facility operated at 72 per cent utilisation and had a break-even period of 36 months, with the capacity to scale up and charge 1,000 cars at the station.
Apparently, few had anticipated the turn of events for a charging station that was once projected as the country’s largest such unit.
Even as this facility struggles, India’s EV charging ecosystem continues to expand. ChargeZone is currently India’s largest EV charging network, operating over 13,500 charging points across the country as of April 2025. The network includes a mix of AC and DC fast chargers, with capacities of up to 360 kW, catering to cars, buses, and commercial vehicles. ChargeZone also operates the country’s largest single charging hub in Bengaluru, with over 210 charging points.
The EV charging ecosystem has become increasingly vital as state governments step up policy action. In January, the Delhi government announced plans to install around 7,000 new electric vehicle charging stations by the end of the year to promote clean mobility and boost EV adoption. The initiative is part of a broader strategy to mitigate vehicular emissions, a primary contributor to air pollution in the national capital.
Alongside charging infrastructure, the state government is also planning to strengthen public transport by expanding the bus fleet. The existing EV policy is set to expire at the end of March, and a revised policy is expected to be finalised and notified before that deadline.
At the national level, India’s electric vehicle push is anchored by the ₹10,900 crore PM-Electric Drive Vehicle Incentive and Ecosystem (PM-E-DRIVE) scheme. Introduced on March 13, 2024, the scheme focuses on subsidising electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, ambulances, and trucks, while also strengthening charging infrastructure.
PM-E-DRIVE is aimed at catalysing EV adoption in high-impact segments by offering targeted incentives, boosting domestic manufacturing through Production Linked Incentives (PLI), and promoting localised innovation across the electric mobility value chain.
