Gurgaon-based Infraprime Logistics (IPLT), a start-up in construction logistics claims it is catalysing $200 million (Rs 1,480 crore) investment for enabling the deployment of 1,000 electric trucks within the next two years, which will make it the largest electric commercial vehicle operating platform globally.
The company says its AI-enabled order booking platform ‘TruckNow’ and driver assistance app ‘Humsafar’ enables it to assure truck placement and charging slot availability for fleet operators.
The start-up says it has grown to over $50 million (Rs 370 crore) in terms of annualised gross logistics value of the contracts being executed.
Infraprime Logistics says the new investment would go in expanding the marketplace for construction logistics all over India, in establishing a state-of-the-art platform for vehicle servicing, charging and maintenance and towards plant automation. Fleet operators, charging network franchisee owners and banks would be playing their part via purchase and financing of various assets. The investment would add over $1 billion (Rs 7,401 crore) in annual margins to stakeholders across the value chain.
The company says as per a report by KPMG, the construction sector is expected to be a $1 trillion (Rs 7,401,000 crore) industry by 2025 and is expected to engage 1 million heavy duty trucks. The EV startup says it plans to showcase through its investment that all these 1 million heavy duty trucks can be replaced with electric trucks. The country wide displacement would need a charging network spanning 2,000 sites across 500+ routes.
According to Infraprime Logistics electric trucks can generate four times as much margins as a corresponding diesel truck. With introduction of BS VI, the prices of diesel trucks have gone up which creates a compelling case for the electric trucks. The company says its electric trucks are priced at twice the price of a corresponding diesel truck. The electric CV maker says it launched its first product ‘Rhino 5536’ in August 2019 which immediately garnered eyeballs, and now plans to soon launch a 37 MT GCW model and a 28 MT GCW model.
It has also introduced an on-demand marketplace ‘IPLT Trucknow’ wherein customers can directly place orders for their transportation/material requirements for construction projects. The orders are fulfilled by the drivers who get navigation assistance via the ‘IPLT Humsafar’ App.