British oil major BP and India’s Reliance Industries have started a retail fuel joint venture which sells fuels and provides charging and battery swapping services for electric vehicles in India. The JV, called Reliance BP Mobility Ltd, opened its maiden mobility station under the Jio-BP brand at Navi Mumbai. It plans to rebrand Reliance’s 1,400 stations in the coming months. Separately, BP CEO Bernard Loony said that the company would expand the number of fuel stations to 5,500 by 2025. Reliance owns 51% of the JV, while BP holds the remaining 49% stake.
The government is offering incentives to motorists to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the country. The JV expects India’s fuel and electric mobility demand to grow rapidly over the next twenty years. However, it is expected to face tough competition from state-owned companies. IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL, currently own more than 90% of 60,000 retail fuel outlets in India. Analysts said BP-Reliance would have to offer better products and services to challenge these companies’ dominance in the market. Jio-BP also plans to expand its operations in the aviation fuel sector from 30 airports today to 45 in the coming years.
