EV Adoption In India Gets A Boost: Flipkart Announces New Delivery EVs

• Flipkart aims to replace 40 per cent of its existing fleet with EVs by March 2020.
• 160 EV vans will be deployed by the end of 2019.
• Flipkart already has 8 EVs in Hyderabad, 10 in New Delhi and 30 e-bikes in Bangalore.

Homegrown e-commerce merchant Flipkart has ventured into greener pastures with the introduction of nation-wide last-mile EV delivery vans. With this decision, Flipkart is the first among its counterparts and one of the first few enterprises in the country to embrace electrification. Flipkart is also paving the way for the electrification of commercial vehicles in India, which should encourage more private and commercial users to adopt this greener mode of motoring. 

The e-commerce giant will introduce the EV vans at the final leg of deliveries, with an aim to replace 40 per cent of its existing fleet with all-electric ones by March 2020.  The first stage will see around 160 EV vans assigned to various cities by the end of 2019. Flipkart took the decision to adopt electric delivery vehicles after being impressed by a six-month test phase. Charging infrastructure was one of the main concerns and Flipkart plans to address this by setting up charging outlets in their delivery hubs across India. 

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This initiative will also help them cut down carbon emissions by as much as 50 per cent. As it stands today, Flipkart has 8 EVs in Hyderabad, 10 in New Delhi and 30 e-bikes in Bangalore. With this move, Flipkart is also setting a template which will be adopted at a larger scale in the future. The increased visibility of EVs on our roads should encourage more people, including private car owners, to consider a switch - especially by reducing range anxiety.

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Charging infrastructure and incentives to buy EVs remain the main hurdles in the mass adoption of EVs in India. The Government of India has begun phase two of its plan (FAME II) to rectify this by offering subsidies and incentives to both manufacturers and consumers. A recent announcement of lower GST rates and zero road tax on commercial EVs is only going to make things better.

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