In its bid to reduce tailpipe emissions and promote the use of cleaner mobility solutions, the last-mile mobility industry has put the pedal to the metal that has enabled India to see an exponential rise in the share of electric vehicles (EVs) being sold in the market lately.
In an interaction with the Financial Express, Prateek Rao, CEO & Founder, Zyngo EV Mobility, shares that the logistics space has benefited a lot from adopting the green vehicles.
Last-mile deliveries have been transitioning to EVs from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles lately. Talking about how the total cost of ownership has changed depending on the technological and regional factors, Rao said, “Given that TCO entails the upfront capital cost as well as the operational cost of a vehicle alongside optimal vehicle usage, EVs have an inherent advantage as they offer lesser operational and maintenance costs as compared to ICE vehicles. Leveraging the latest technology and integrated ‘tech-first’ fleet operations system has reduced TCO as well as range anxiety and inefficiencies within the ecosystem.”
Rao mentioned that fleet electrification is going to be a key solution to cater towards the growing logistics demand of businesses in India. “Last-mile logistics is going to grow exponentially, becoming a $5 billion (Rs 38,785 crore) market in India by 2024. It is crystal-clear that businesses – especially e-commerce, online-commerce, FMCG, retail, grocery delivery, among other types of companies – are taking a note of these facts and figures and are now increasingly looking to transition to EV fleets. As with EVs the operational costs are lesser, and it is possible to increase profitability along with efficiency and productivity.”
When asked if the arrival of FCEVs will further increase the cost efficiency of the last-mile delivery fleets, he replied, “From PHEV to FCEV to hydrogen vehicles, the commercial vehicle market is nowadays ever-evolving with many new alternate fuel options and technologies coming to the fore. However, these technological innovations will take time (maybe upto a few years or decade) to shape up and become commercially viable fully. In the meanwhile, lithium-ion based EVs have already proven their effectiveness and viability in the logistics and last-mile delivery space in India.”
It is worthy to note that the last-mile delivery fleets have been majorly adopting EVs and hence boosting the sales of electric vehicles in India, particularly in the two- and three-wheeler segment. He expressed his views on 3PLs role in the EV share on the Indian roads saying “The Central government’s and various state government’s push towards electrifying upto 30-50 per cent of delivery fleets are the steps in the right direction in paving the EV revolution in India. In addition, consumer behaviour is also changing towards environmental-friendly mobility, and more so after the pandemic-led digital and tech proliferation. Today, quick commerce and e-commerce is booming with innovative business models like 10-minute, 20-minute or 1-hour deliveries coming to the fore, and EV fleet and logistics players must take note of the same and adopt and evolve their operations in accordance.”
