Nitin Gadkari flags off Amazon India’s electric vehicles for last-mile

April 20, 2021: Amazon India reaffirmed its commitment towards the electrification of its last-mile delivery fleet to reduce its dependence on non-renewable resources at a virtual event with Nitin Gadkari, leaders from Amazon India and CEOs of leading OEMs.

Amazon India recently announced that it is working with Mahindra Electric to add more electric vehicles (EV) to its delivery fleet. Hero Electric as well as start-ups such as EVage are also engaging with Amazon India to expand the company’s fleet of EVs to enable sustainable deliveries of customer orders. Amazon India’s delivery service partners are already operating EVs of multiple formats in over 20 cities in India including Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Indore and Coimbatore.

The collaborative effort strengthens Amazon India’s commitment to include 10,000 EVs as part of its delivery fleet by 2025. These EVs are in addition to the company’s global commitment of 100,000 electric vehicles in its delivery fleet by 2030 announced in the Climate Pledge signed by Amazon. Amazon India’s Delivery Service Partner fleet of EVs now includes 2-wheeler, 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles, which are designed and made in India and will be deployed across the company’s delivery partner network.

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Nitin Gadkari, union minister of MSME, road transport and highways said, “As we enter the 75th year of Indian independence we need to focus on our collective efforts towards a green and sustainable India. I want to congratulate Amazon for being the first company to sign the climate pledge by committing to net zero carbon across the business, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. This is a remarkable and historical contribution. I am really happy to know that Amazon India has pledged to adopt 10,000 EVs in their delivery fleet by 2025. Collaboration between Amazon and Indian OEMs like Mahindra Electric, Hero Electric and EVage is a welcome step, which reaffirms India’s significant progress in the e-mobile industry.”

“We, at Amazon India, remain steadfast in our endeavour to building a supply chain that fosters energy efficiency and is environmentally responsible. These Electric Vehicles will play a central role in achieving our environmental sustainability goals and will also play an important role towards building an AtmaNirbhar Bharat”, said Prakash Kumar Dutta, vice president, fulfilment centre & supply chain operations, Amazon India.