Flipkart to add 25,000 EVs to supply chain by 2030

Ecommerce major Flipkart on Wednesday announced that it will deploy over 25,000 electric vehicles in its city logistics fleet and fully transition to electric mobility by 2030 . 

The company, in a statement, said that it has already begun to deploy two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric vehicles in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati and Pune.

It will set up charging infrastructure around delivery hubs and offices to fast track the adoption of electric vehicles, the statement said. 

Flipkart’s electric fleet will also include four-wheelers designed and assembled in India, helping boost local innovation and economy.

The Bengaluru-based startup has partnered with electric vehicle manufacturers, including Hero Electric for two-wheeler the Nyx series (in both HX and LX variants), Mahindra Electric for three-wheeler Treo Zor and Piaggio for three-wheeler Ape’ E Xtra FX. 

Hero’s Nyx scooters are already operating with Flipkart’s logistics deployment partners in multiple cities, including Kolkata, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar.

Flipkart will also place requirements in service contracts, install charging infrastructure close to its 1,400 supply chain facilities, conduct awareness programmes and encourage delivery executives to use EVs, the statement said.

“Electrification of the logistics fleet is a key part of Flipkart’s larger sustainability goal and in line with our commitment to the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative. In this journey of making our logistics fleet completely electric by 2030, we will collaborate and work with leading local players to procure and deploy electric vehicles while supporting the required infrastructure growth. We understand the relevance of electric mobility in achieving both business and sustainability goals and are committed to paving the way for greater adoption of EVs across the country,” Amitesh Jha, senior vice president for Ekart and marketplace, Flipkart, said.

The announcement comes a day after rival Amazon announced its partnership with Mahindra Electric to deploy Treo Zor in its targeted fleet of 10,000 EVs in India by 2025.

In 2019, Flipkart said that it will replace 40% of its delivery fleet with EVs by early 2020, starting with 160 electric vans across cities by end of 2019.

Over the past one year, Flipkart has created a network of ecosystem partners across charging providers, skill development agencies, aggregators and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).