Swiggy Pledges 8,00,000 Kms Daily on EVs by 2025 . Is It Ambitious Enough?

India’s food delivery giant, SoftBank-backed Swiggy, has announced a slew of partnerships with various electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in recent times to develop what it calls a sustainable, greener, and cost-effective solution for delivery fleets.

Swiggy has started trials in Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bangalore of deploying EVs in its delivery fleets. These trials are the part of Swiggy’s commitment of covering 8 lakh Kms every day through EVs by 2025 for deliveries. In December 2020, Swiggy announced plans to switch 10% of its delivery fleets into electric in 2021. In January 2021 the firm had confirmed an active delivery fleet of over 200K during FY20.

If we assume that Swiggy increases its fleet at a 5% growth rate, by 2025 they would have a fleet of over 240K in 2025. Now, as it is committing to cover 8 lakh Kms per day on an average of 80 Km per day for one rider, swiggy would be having 10,000 EVs by that time. This shows a fleet share for EV’s of barely 4.2% by then. That is barely in step with overall EV targets by that year. And certainly underwhelming for a business firm built around deliveries.

Swiggy’s newest announcement is a partneredship with Reliance BP Mobility Ltd. (RBML) to build an ecosystem for electric vehicle battery-swapping stations across the country. The partnership aims to synergize their strengths of scale, reach, and technology in creating a greener and cost-effective solution for delivery fleets through innovative business models.

“As we continue to work towards providing our consumers with greater convenience, we are also mindful of the environmental impact of our operations and are taking the necessary steps to make our journey more sustainable,” expressed Mr. Sriharsha Majety, CEO of Swiggy.

Making deliveries through EVs is expected to lower the running cost of vehicles by up to 40%, leading to higher earnings for Swiggy’s delivery partners. He informed that this announcement comes after almost two years of pilots when Swiggy explored various models to determine what would make EV adoption easier and more profitable for its delivery partners.

“Transitioning to EVs is an important step in this direction. It will have a positive impact not only on the environment but also empower our delivery partners to earn more,” Majety added.

While speaking of the partnership, RBML CEO, Mr. Harish C Mehta stated, “The collaboration with Swiggy has the potential to bring disruption and increase EV adoption among delivery and transportation companies in the country”.

In June this year, as a part of its net-zero carbon target, RMBL had commenced the infrastructure development and started pilot testing of battery swap stations at over 24 select locations. Aiming to expand the company’s network portfolio up to 5,500 outlets over five years.

“We are confident Swiggy and their delivery partners will immensely benefit from our widespread network of battery swap stations,” he added.

Additionally, Swiggy has partnered with Hero Lectro, a leading e-cycle manufacturer, and Fast Dispatch Logistics, a leading last-mile delivery player in the United Kingdom, to enable end-to-end Swiggy orders through cargo e-cycles.

Notably, Hero Lectro Cargo e-bikes are specifically designed for last-mile deliveries and can travel at a maximum speed of 25 km/h with a range of 70 to 75km per charge, making them ideal for short-distance deliveries.

Earlier, Swiggy has also been a customer of India’s last-mile delivery EV player, Zypp Electric. Swiggy’s business competitor Zomato has also announced its big plans towards 100% adoption of EVs for deliveries by 2030 on World Environment Day (5 June) this year.