Flipkart partners Mahindra Logistics to deploy EVs for last-mile delivery across India

Flipkart, a leading e-commerce marketplace has partnered with Mahindra Logistics (MLL) as one of its key logistics partners to help fast track deployment of electric vehicles across its logistics fleet in the country. As part of its commitment to have only electric vehicles in its fleet Flipkart aims to deploy more than 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030, where Mahindra Logistics is said to play a significant role in working with various OEMs and help Flipkart’s sustainable transition to EVs.

It maybe recollected that in January 2021, Mahindra Logistics has launched EDEL, its own electric delivery brand. EDEL has partnered with companies in consumer and e-commerce to provide sustainable last-mile delivery across six cities in India. As part of the understanding EDEL will enable Flipkart in its journey towards building a green supply chain by not only deploying a large fleet of EVs but also creating a conducive environment for EV deployment and operations across the country. This includes building supporting infrastructure and technology such as charging stations and parking lots, training workforce, route planning and even battery swapping stations in the near future. Another key focus area will be technology and control tower operations to enable greater efficiency and cost competitiveness.

The e-commerce major has already partnered with OEMs and introduced electric two- and three-wheelers in its supply chain. The company’s partnership with EDEL will further propel this momentum and help in deployment at a national scale, further enhanced by infrastructure and technology support that spans charging, tracking, asset, safety, and cost. Mahindra Logistics, under its electric delivery brand EDEL, will procure different types and classes of electric vehicles from OEMs as it establishes an all-India EV presence. EDEL already operates a large fleet of EVs, and now aims to scale up the same significantly to support Flipkart’s objectives in the coming months. EDEL’s robust multi-city presence across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, with a plan to cover the top 20 cities by year-end, will help facilitate a seamless and phased transition to EVs for Flipkart’s pan-India supply chain.

Hemant Badri, SVP Supply Chain, Flipkart Group, said, “Electrification of the logistics fleet is an important part of Flipkart’s larger sustainability goal and a key focus area for the company. We are happy to have Mahindra Logistics on-board as a logistics partner, who will play a major role in helping us achieve our vision of making our logistics fleet fully electric by 2030. Through collective efforts, we aim to build and support solutions that boost EV adoption across the country and gradually make a 100% transition to EVs in our logistics fleet”.

Rampraveen Swaminathan, CEO and MD said, “Mahindra Logistics is deeply committed to sustainability, in line with our RISE philosophy. The EV-based last-mile delivery service EDEL is aligned to this and provides customers with a sustainable, cost-competitive and technology enabled last-mile delivery solution. Our focus is on expanding our network based on our deep partnership with large enterprise customers. We are pleased about this engagement with Flipkart and look forward to partnering with them.”

In June 2019, Flipkart had planned to convert at least 40 percent of its fleet into electric vehicles. The company has recently announced its partnership with leading electric vehicle manufacturers, including Hero Electric, Mahindra Electric and Piaggio, to deploy EVs in its logistics fleet across the country. In line with its sustainability vision, the company has also been working closely with several ecosystem partners on many aspects of electric mobility, including vehicle design, range and load capacity among others to build customised vehicles that are best suited for the e-commerce industry.