Source: ETtech
An Amazon India spokesperson told ET that for its current electric fleet the company has worked with smaller OEMs but is in talks with all the large manufacturers in the space.
Amazon India has made a commitment to induct 10,000 electric vehicles (EV) into its delivery fleet by 2025, which is part of the company’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impact of its operations in the country.
In a statement, the company said its commitment to electric mobility comes after running successful pilots in several cities last year and will have its electric fleet operating in 20 cities across the country, including Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Hyderabad within the year.
“At Amazon India, we are committed to building a supply chain that will minimize the environmental impact of our operations,” said Akhil Saxena, Vice President, Customer Fulfillment – APAC & Emerging Markets, Amazon. “We will continue to invest in the electrification of our delivery fleet, thereby reducing our dependence on non-renewable resources.”
An Amazon India spokesperson told ET that for its current electric fleet the company has worked with smaller OEMs but is in talks with all the large manufacturers in the space. The company will induct both three and four-wheeler EVs in the country which will be designed and manufactured in India.
Currently, Mahindra & Mahindra is the only large auto manufacturer that sells electric three-wheelers as part of its Treo range and also sells its eSupro electric cargo van. Tata Motors is the other large Indian OEM to be in the electric commercial vehicle space, but doesn’t currently sell its Electric Ace in India.
“…the government’s focus to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, and steps towards setting up of charging infrastructure with the FAME 2 policy has helped the company accelerate and chart its vision for EVs in India,” Amazon India’s statement read.
Amazon’s plan to induct EVs into its delivery fleet is part of the company’s five year plan that includes creating 1 million new direct and indirect jobs and exporting goods worth $10 billion from small and medium businesses and manufacturers in India. The announcements came on the back of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ visit to India last week.
Experts have maintained that EV adoption in India is likely to begin with commercial applications rather than in the passenger vehicle space. Even Amazon’s chief rival Flipkart in India is looking to adopt EVs for its last mile deliveries and had said that it would look to convert 40% of its fleet to electric by March 2020.
Amazon said that its 10,000 EV inductions in India would be in addition to the 100,000 EVs the company said it would induct into its fleet globally by 2030.
