The Indian arm of the Nordic energy company, Fortum Charge & Drive India, has rebranded its b2c brand as Glida.
Speaking to Mobility Outlook, Awadhesh Kumar Jha, Executive Director, Glida, said, “In our early days, we were known by our parents. Now, we want to have our own identity.” Glida, in Swedish parlance, means to glide smoothly, and the name demonstrates what the company stands for – ‘freedom to move without any barriers or hesitation’.
With backing from the parent brand, Jha believes that electric mobility has come to a stage where it is poised to take off, and that's where the flying leaf in the logo makes sense.
Beyond this, the larger picture of the story is to differentiate the b2b business from the b2c space, Sanjay Agarwal, President, Fortum India, noted. Citing the example of Nestle, he noted that as Nestle noodles are known as Maggie, “we want to be known as Glide charging stations.’ He added that the differentiation between the b2b and the b2c business is very important to have clarity in the audience’s mind as a b2b business won’t require a brand name as such, while the b2c business needs a brand name and a different approach.
The President believes the rebranding has been done at the perfect time because, in the initial stage, the parent brand’s support and name were essential to establish the brand in the market.
Speaking on the b2b business, the company is looking at sticking to supporting the 4W segment with charging stations for the time being. The company believes its competencies lie with 4Ws; hence the plan is to expand the charging station business.
As for the expansion plan, the company plans to expand its existing network of nearly 500 charging stations to about 1,000 by the end of FY24. With the 500 charging stations, the company is currently present in 16 cities and for the expansion, Glida plans to build a more concentrated network in these 16 cities and add a few stations on the national highways, Jha confirmed. By the end of the decade, the company aims to have a market share of 30% in the e4W charging business, he added.
Beyond expansion, the company plans to focus on safety and innovation with the new brand. Recently, the company introduced the Charge-thru feature for the charging stations, allowing users to use the Glida charging station without downloading the app. Agarwal believes this feature will greatly help older people who are not so tech-agnostic.
Agarwal believes that being a technology-agnostic company, it is important to decipher the audiences’ wants through R&D, develop more innovative solutions like charge-thru, and avoid getting into the hardware part of the business.
Beyond B2C
While the electric vehicle charging solution from the company was introduced in 2017, Fortum’s journey in India started with the solar power plants in 2012. The company has five operating solar plants in India: Amrit, Kapeli, Bhadla and Pavagada.
Besides, Fortum ventured into ethanol blending technology as the country shifted its focus towards fuel blending to reduce the country's carbon footprint. Earlier in April 2023, NTPC announced the signing of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chempolis India (a Fortum brand) to study the feasibility of establishing a bamboo-based bio-refinery in Bongaigaon, Assam.
The project will support NTPC’s decarbonisation efforts, create job opportunities and build a sustainable model by promoting the use of locally available resources. EIL is the Project Consultant for NTPC to prepare the detailed project report.
The President noted that with a strong focus on generating renewable energy, Fortum India will always strive to bring an equilibrium between society, business and nature.
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