Solar-backed charging yards for electric auto and cargo fleets in smaller cities
TL;DR Daycharge runs fenced charging yards where electric auto and cargo three-wheeler fleets park and charge. Canopy solar and a small battery sit behind a normal grid connection, and charging gets pushed into the cheapest hours. Fleet owners pay a monthly plan per vehicle, and what they're really buying is reliable, cheaper energy rather than a green badge.
Electric three-wheelers aren't niche anymore. In September 2026, 55.8% of new passenger autos registered in India were electric, up from 32.4% a year earlier[1]. Most of them still charge wherever the driver sleeps, and home charging carries 80–90% of daily EV energy use[2].
That's a bad setup for fleets. A commercial three-wheeler usually needs a full charge every day and often a top-up at lunch[2]. In parts of Rajasthan, supply voltage sags to 180–190V, which makes chargers unreliable without stabilisers[2]. So fleet owners in smaller cities end up with drivers charging at home on domestic meters, and no control over when, how fast or at what cost.
What it does, in regulatory terms: an EV charging service only. Daycharge sells charging to fleets at its own yards. It does not sell electricity to neighbours or run a distribution network, and EV charging was declared a de-licensed business in the 2018 central guidelines[3]. Confirm the current state rules and DISCOM connection terms with an adviser.
Each yard is a leased plot near where fleets already gather - a transport nagar, the edge of a mandi or a leasing company's depot. A solar canopy covers the parking bays, a modest battery smooths evening demand and the grid does the rest. Vehicles plug in by slot, and software staggers the sessions so most energy lands in solar hours and the off-peak window. The fleet owner gets a per-vehicle log of energy, time and cost.
The original version of this idea was decentralised renewable microgrids. Selling power to lots of unrelated users invites licensing questions that a charging yard simply avoids. And an off-grid site would need a battery big enough to cover the night, which is the most expensive part of the whole system. So the grid comes first, solar goes in where it pays and the battery stays small.
The payer is the fleet owner or leasing company running 20–200 electric autos or cargo vehicles, who loses money every time one sits idle. Drivers who rent vehicles daily are users, not buyers. Today the options are home charging on the driver's meter, swap subscriptions from swap networks[4] or public chargers. My test price is a monthly plan per vehicle set just under what the fleet now pays for energy plus downtime, and that's an assumption you'll need to check.
Time-of-day tariffs under the 2023 amendment to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules make solar-hour power 10–20% cheaper than normal and peak power 10–20% dearer, phased in from April 2024 for larger commercial users[5]. Battery packs fell to a global average of US$115 per kWh in 2024 (about ₹11,100), 20% below 2023[6]. And the electric share of cargo three-wheelers rose to 32.6% by September 2026[1].
Nobody publishes a figure for depot charging of three-wheeler fleets in India. The narrowest signal is the shift itself. One big three-wheeler maker sold 13,417 electric passenger autos in one month, September 2026, which is almost its entire volume in that segment[1]. As an adjacent number, one charging-software firm reports more than 261,000 chargers onboarded across its platform[7], so a lot of charging already happens outside public stations.
The biggest swap network runs with plans for drivers and fleets[4], which cuts out charging time but charges per swap. One charger network lists more than 10,000 chargers and fleet software, and mentions solar only in general terms[8]. Charging-software firms sell chargers and depot-management software to operators rather than running yards themselves[7]. I found no operator offering solar-backed depot yards priced for three-wheeler fleets in tier-2 towns.
| Difficulty | Moderate (50/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹2.7–4.6 Cr |
| Time to launch | 9–12 months |
The equipment is standard stuff. Land and power are the hard parts, because you need a plot near fleets on a lease long enough to earn back the solar and battery spend, and a DISCOM connection of the right size that actually shows up on time. Then you have to keep the yards full, since an empty bay earns nothing while the panels and battery keep depreciating.
EV charging is a de-licensed business, so you don't need a power licence. You do need several permissions before a yard opens.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't hand battery safety limits or electrical protection to a model. Those stay with certified hardware and fixed rules.
Want to work out the AI layer for Daycharge? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
I think this is a solid infrastructure business for a founder with power-sector or fleet-operations experience and patient capital. It suits someone who enjoys land deals and DISCOM paperwork more than app design (rare, but they exist). Before building anything, get letters of intent from fleets covering at least 80 vehicles for one site, and the power connection timeline in writing.
Plan for roughly ₹2.7–4.6 Cr for the first sites, with land lease, the grid connection, solar canopy and battery taking most of it.
No power licence, since EV charging is de-licensed. You still need a DISCOM connection, local fire and building approvals and your state's tariff terms.
Yes, wherever electric fleets are growing. Check local rules on selling charging, grid connection timelines and tariffs before you sign a lease.
The free Daycharge validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the charging, tariff and site-permission checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for fleet owners and drivers, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Daycharge or something close to it? The make-or-break bit is locking down a well-placed plot and a power connection before you commit to solar and batteries, and that's the kind of thing I help founders sort out. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.