Montra's Electric Auto Now Charges Faster Than a Chai Break

Image: Montra Electric / Exponent Energy (press kit, cropped)

Montra Electric's Super Auto FX can now go from 0 to 100% in 15 minutes. That's about the time an auto driver spends on a chai and some gossip at the stand. The Montra Super Auto FX rapid charging option comes through a tie-up with Exponent Energy, and it starts in Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi NCR.

Fast charging is still rare in India's L5M passenger auto segment. Montra Electric, the Murugappa Group's EV brand, is betting that time is what drivers care about most.

How the 15-minute charge works

Exponent's trick is control. It makes the pack, the charger and the plug, so it can push current harder than a generic DC charger would dare to, on regular lithium-ion cells. Super Auto FX owners get access to its network of more than 200 chargers across the three launch cities. Autocar Professional notes that neither company has said when more cities will follow; we have asked Montra and will update this piece.

The number we want to see next is cycle life. Fifteen-minute charging every day is hard on any battery, and the 2.25 lakh km warranty is Montra's way of saying it has tested that. Ask the dealer what battery health the warranty actually guarantees at the end of it.

Here's what the Super Auto FX brings, as per Montra:

• Claimed real-world range: 150+ km
• Torque: 60 Nm
• Gradability: 32%
• Warranty: 5 years or 2.25 lakh km
• Hill hold assist, push-button start, cabin light and a 12V mobile charging socket

Not their first ride together

Montra and Exponent first teamed up in September 2023 on Montra's cargo three-wheeler, using an 8.8 kWh Exponent pack built to handle repeated rapid charging. Earlier this month, the two (along with Exponent ONE) also launched ONE Pass, a pay-per-km energy plan for Montra's Super Cargo range. According to Autocar Professional, it charges ₹3.20 per km for battery and charging, with the energy bill capped at ₹12,000 a month.

Deependra Sharma, CEO of Montra's e-3W business, said charging time has been a genuine worry for drivers, because every hour at the charger is an hour without fares. Exponent's founder and CEO Arun Vinayak called it a natural next step after their cargo work.

What this means for you

If you drive an auto for a living, this is the part that matters. A 15-minute top-up fits inside a break you were going to take anyway. Add a claimed 150+ km of range, and a quick midday charge could keep you on the road through a long day without a big gap in earnings.

A few things to check first. Rapid charging covers only three cities for now. Autocar Professional also points out that the warranty conditions and the per-session charging price haven't been published, and we couldn't find them either. Ask your dealer how close the nearest Exponent station is to your usual route, and what a full charge will cost you before you sign.

The EVGyan take

Diesel and CNG autos refuel in a few minutes, and that has always been their quiet advantage over electric ones. Fifteen minutes doesn't fully erase that gap, but it shrinks it to a chai break. Once charging time stops being a reason to say no, the lower running cost of an electric auto does most of the selling on its own.