Mahindra Electric, the e-mobility arm of Mahindra & Mahindra has partnered government of India’s Common Service Centeres (CSC) to promote the adoption of electric vehicles across India, and to enhance sustainable connectivity in the country.
Through this association with CSC, Mahindra Electric will offer the Treo and Alfa e-three-wheeler to aspiring customers in the rural markets. The OEM says electric mobility in rural India will receive a huge boost through this association and at the same time pollution levels will be in check as well. Through this initiative, customers get an opportunity to become entrepreneurs by purchasing multiple Mahindra Treo or Alfa electric vehicles, deploying them for pollution-free mobility/logistics operations and be sustainable in the long run.
CSC helps provide employment in the rural regions of the country. It appoints Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) to facilitate a smoother operation, who form the connection between customers and the OEMs. The VLEs spread awareness of the government initiatives amongst others in the villages.
The partnership was announced through a social media session between Suman Mishra, CEO, Mahindra Electric and Sanjay Rakesh, SPV – CEO, CSC.
“Such tie-ups can provide gainful employment opportunities for the educated youth in India to earn a proud livelihood. The earning ability with Mahindra electric 3-wheelers is quite high while the maintenance is the lowest when compared to conventional fuel vehicles and the benefit to environment is significant. This tie-up will help us to penetrate rural markets and propagate the use of electric vehicles, thereby helping India achieve its EV mission quicker,” said Mishra.
Mahindra says this tie-up helps it in more ways than one. While there are more than 800 outlets that sell the Mahindra range of last-mile mobility products in both electric as well as in conventional fuel forms, the penetration of CSC in reaching rural markets is unmatched. Currently, the network of VLEs extend to more than 470,000 individuals across the nation while the number of CSCs is 450,000. The rural e-mobility program was kickstarted last year by CSC to promote electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.