Mahindra Electric partners SmartE for last-mile connectivity

Mahindra Electric Mobility and SmartE, an electric vehicle owner and aggregator operating in Delhi-NCR, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for deploying electric vehicles for last-mile connectivity in India.

As per the MoU, SmartE will introduce the first 1,000 Mahindra Treo and Treo Yaari electric three-wheelers in the Delhi-NCR region by March 2019. The company also plans to deploy a total of 10,000 Mahindra electric three-wheelers across the country by 2020.  The MoU was signed by Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric and Goldie Srivastava, co-founder and CEO, SmartE in New Delhi.

The company says they have come together, to offer convenient, affordable and zero-emission last-mile connectivity, not just for the NCR region but also for major cities around the country. The partnership is an example of collaboration between companies to address India’s growing need for clean, shared and public mobility solutions, and it aims to rapidly transform the overall EV adoption rate in the country.

Interestingly, SmartE is betting big on electric vehicles for supporting last-mile connectivity, and had recently partnered Sun Mobility for deploying energy infrastructure for 500 vehicles (10 battery swap stations) in Gurgaon by end of the ongoing fiscal and eventually expand to other key cities across the country. The swapping stations would require substantially lesser space than the conventional charging stations set up by SmartE.

Speaking on the association, Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric, said: “As the pioneers of electric mobility, we are happy to join forces with SmartE to accelerate the adoption of e-mobility. India is witnessing rapid urbanisation and metros are driving the multi-modal mobility needs of the large working population in urban cities. Our Treo range of three wheelers will address the demand for first and last mile connectivity and transform the way urban India travels. Associations with partners such as SmartE will make it easier to adopt e-mobility and enable our cities to be more environment friendly.”

Goldie Srivastava, co-founder and CEO, SmartE, said, “We are excited to embark on this journey with Mahindra Electric in our efforts to make the last-mile commute convenient, safe, affordable and eco-friendly for everyone. We look forward to shifting to the zero-emission, cost-efficient, and more comfortable Mahindra Treo range of electric three-wheelers. As a pioneer in the electric mobility service space, SmartE plans to roll-out 100,000 vehicles by 2022. We believe Mahindra Electric’s solutions will play a critical role in our growth strategy."

At present, SmartE already has an ongoing partnership with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, among other organisations clocking around 80,000 rides daily. SmartE has completed over 30 million pollution-free rides in the last three years since its inception. The MoU with Mahindra specifically addresses the last-mile connectivity needs of Delhi Metro commuters. SmartE, which has already built a captive EV charging network for 800 vehicles (concurrently) will be ramping up its EV Charging set-up to support the additional 1,000 vehicles in Delhi. With this addition, SmartE’s fleet of EVs will cross 2,000 vehicles by March 2019 and will help serve over 200,000 commuters per day.

As the global pioneer in the development and production of electric vehicles, Mahindra Electric currently has over 5,000 electric vehicles on road, which have clocked more than 95 million km. The Treo range of electric three wheelers uses Mahindra Electric’s home grown powertrain and maintenance-free lithium-ion battery.

Also read: Sun Mobility partners with SmartE to better last-mile connectivity

Mahindra Electric inks MoU with TWU, will roll out 2,000 Treo 3Ws by 2019

Mahindra Electric plots aggressive growth and a raft of new models