New Delhi, July 30 -- It was the middle of June, with the north-Indian heat wave threatening to step into 50 degrees. I hadn't felt its impact in the near-350 kilometres that I drove to reach the basement of a five-star hotel in Chandigarh-which I was pointed to as the closest destination for a public electric vehicle charger. It was only after I had reached the basement that I started feeling the heat-in more ways than one.

I'd driven in with a BMW i7-an electrified variant of the luxury sedan. I was loaned the car by the company to get a taste of how "the best" electric car in India works. And yet, despite finding a public charger and making a payment, ChargeZone, the charging station provider, could not process my request or detect th...