Synopsis
Ecommerce and logistics companies are accelerating the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) for last-mile deliveries, driven not just by sustainability goals but also by rising costs and supply risks. While EV adoption was already gaining momentum at companies such as Flipkart, Delhivery and Porter, fuel price volatility linked to global conflicts is hastening the transition, executives at bigbasket, Zippee and Dealshare said.While EV adoption was already gaining momentum at companies such as Flipkart, Delhivery and Porter, fuel price volatility linked to global conflicts is hastening the transition, executives at bigbasket, Zippee and Dealshare said.
With fuel costs becoming increasingly unpredictable, companies expect EV timelines to advance as delivery partners seek to reduce risk.
"While the energy crisis is a recent phenomenon, fluctuating fuel prices are also a key catalyst in accelerating EV adoption," said T K Balakumar, chief operating officer, bigbasket. "We estimate that our transition has been advanced by ~6-9 months, as delivery partners increasingly shift to EVs to reduce fuel cost volatility and improve net earnings." At the grocery etailer, about 48% of the active last-mile fleet runs on EVs, which it expects to scale up to 70% over the next 12-24 months.
Lower running costs translate into higher earnings for delivery workers, while companies benefit from lower emissions and a reduced climate footprint.
The current fuel environment is accelerating adoption.
"Rising fuel costs are a wake-up call," said Madhav Kasturia, CEO of ecommerce logistics platform Zippee. "Every rupee saved on energy directly impacts the bottomline, so it's definitely speeding up our EV adoption."
About 25% of Zippee's last-mile fleet is electric, with plans to expand, especially for hyperlocal and quick commerce deliveries. "The fuel situation makes EVs more urgent, so timelines are being nudged forward where possible, especially for high-density delivery zones," said Kasturia.
Value e-tailer Dealshare is also seeing faster EV adoption, primarily because of the significantly lower per-kilometre operating cost, according to its CEO Kamaldeep Singh.
"For delivery partners, this directly improves earning potential, making EVs an economically compelling choice," said Singh. "From 3-5% EV share last year, currently, 20 to 25% of our last-mile fleet operates on electric vehicles, with higher penetration in dense urban clusters like Kolkata and Jaipur. We expect this to scale to 55 to 60% over the next 18 to 24 months."
EVs offer lower operating and maintenance costs, improving predictability and efficiency. A Flipkart study of more than 6,000 delivery partners found nearly 46% were willing to transition, with key barriers including financing, charging infrastructure and ecosystem readiness.
"To address this, we are actively working with infrastructure partners to expand charging solutions across key hubs and high-density routes, while also collaborating with OEMs and financiers to strengthen the broader ecosystem," said Nishant Gupta, head of sustainability, Flipkart Group.
Flipkart aims to transition to 100% electric mobility by 2030 under the EV100 initiative and has doubled its EV fleet over the past year, "with strong adoption emerging across high-frequency delivery use cases," added Gupta.
