PremiumThe online retailer owned by Walmart Inc. will also create charging infrastructure at its delivery hubs and offices, a senior company executive said, adding that the company has started deploying 450 EVs, both two and three-wheelers, in several cities
Flipkart plans to have a fleet of more than 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 in line with its aim to transition its entire logistics fleet across cities to green energy vehicles, the company said on Wednesday.
The online retailer owned by Walmart Inc. will also create charging infrastructure at its delivery hubs and offices, a senior company executive said, adding that the company has started deploying 450 EVs, both two and three-wheelers, in several cities.
Flipkart’s EV fleet will comprise two-wheeled, three-wheeled, and four-wheeled vehicles designed and assembled in India. The Bengaluru-based firm has partnered EV makers such as Hero Electric, Mahindra Electric, and Piaggio to make customized vehicles.
“The journey started a couple of years ago with early EV deployment. We have 450 EVs already and will add another 1,000 EVs by this year-end," said Mahesh Pratap Singh, head, sustainability and social responsibility, Flipkart, in an interaction. “To fulfil our commitment, we need strategic partners and are tying up with original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to co-create solutions. We will add four-wheelers at a later date primarily for use cases in grocery and furniture, for their volumetric profile and weight," Singh said.
Flipkart plans to have charging infrastructure at nearly 1,400 supply chain centres.
Over the past year, the company has worked towards creating a network of ecosystem partners across charging providers, skill development agencies, aggregators, and vehicle manufacturers.
Flipkart said last year that it will shift its entire fleet to EVs within this decade by joining the non-profit Climate Group’s global electric mobility initiative EV100.
The partnership with Flipkart will help “transform a significant number of their fleet to EVs and encourage the e-commerce industry to actively adopt EVs", Hero Electric chief executive officer Sohinder Gill said.
Flipkart’s EV logistics fleet will include the Nyx series of two-wheelers from Hero Electric, Treo Zor from Mahindra Electric and Piaggio’s electric three-wheeler Ape e-Xtra FX.
This comes in the wake of rival e-commerce firm Amazon India on Tuesday saying it has partnered Mahindra Electric to strengthen its commitment to electric mobility in the country, as it looks to add 10,000 EVs in its local delivery fleet by 2025. These are in addition to Amazon.com Inc.’s commitment of having 100,000 EVs in its global delivery fleet by 2030.
