Ecommerce delivery network makes electric cargo three-wheelers red hot
CHENNAI: The EV market — battered by the lack of interest in ride sharing public transport like e-rickshaws and passenger three wheelers — is suddenly buzzing with action as the ecommerce segment picks up steam.
The new red hot area of interest are electric cargo three-wheelers specifically designed to cater to the ecommerce last-mile delivery requirements. This week two products — the Safar Jumbo by Kinetic Green and the Treo Zor by Mahindra — were rolled out even as Tata Motors indicated that it was looking to tap into this market with an electric Ace type product.
Pawan Goenka,MD & CEO, M&M: “With BS6, petrol/diesel vehicle prices have gone up but EV prices have not. Hence EVs have become more competitive in the last mile delivery segment. We are talking to Flipkart, Amazon, Reliance Retail and other ecommerce majors and we have incorporated inputs of ecommerce sector very early in the development of the Treo Zor so it is designed to meet the needs of this sector.”
M&M is supplying the first consignment of 50 vehicles to the ecommerce segment to begin with.
The closing of the price gap — the Kinetic Safar Jumbo at Rs 2.5 lakh ex-showroom is priced lower than its closest competitor Piaggio Ape at Rs 2.6 lakh thanks to the BS VI markup and the Rs 60,000 upfront government subsidy — is only part of the story.
