Energetica India Magazine May-June 2021

Introduction The sudden and rapid increase in the demand for e-commerce in recent years has been a catalyst for the surge in last-mile services countrywide. The surge in COVID-19 cases all across the world and growth in the numbers of online shopping has pushed the importance of last-mile to the forefront of the overall supply chain process. Among all the industries of the coun- try which were impacted by the pandemic, e-commerce and last-mile delivery showed the most resilience and recovered strongly in no time. During this period, we have also seen un- precedented growth in demand for online orders and e-com- merce. Now, the last-mile delivery firms have adapted to this ‘new normal’. The market has brought many huge changes to the way things are delivered for the last-mile ecosystem. The pandemic has likely accelerated these changes. Effect of Pandemic to boost the EV Last Mile delivery Covid-19 pandemic has also pushed the last mile delivery through Electric Vehicles. The two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments continue to dominate the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry. Even after the Covid-19, the EV market will recover swiftly. In the EV segment, E-rickshaws, e-autos and e-two wheelers are the most promising segments for electrification in India and are expected to account for over four million units by 2025. The shift to electric mobility and last-mile delivery through EV has become necessary now more than ever owing to the fast depletion of fossil fuels, increase in energy costs, environmen- tal impacts of last-mile delivery through petrol diesel vehicles, and digital intervention. Market and governments both have succeeded in demonstrating that electric vehicles could de- liver the practicality, sustainability, safety, and affordability characteristics expected from them. Mobile internet, automa- tion, the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, advanced analytics, renewable energy are some areas of innovation and technology has been adopted to bring about changes in ways of traditional systems of functioning especially this time when the whole world is suffering from the pandemic. EV Last-mile delivery market During Covid-19 Pandemic Last-mile delivery consists of almost two-fifths of the total lo - gistics costs and this ensures the leading players will have to come up with newer innovative solutions. Adoption and Imple- mentation of many modern technologies in last-mile delivery have been accelerated during the pandemic and it will con- tinue to do so in the aftermath creating a competitive advan- tage among key players in the industry. Government authorities have also helped to adopt the EV last-mile delivery during this time and relatively untapped market potential, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are poised to become an integral part of India’s last-mile delivery space. EV has pushed the last mile delivery to a great- er extent during this time. EVs are not only good for the envi- ronment but they also provide a highly cost-effective alterna- tive to petrol/diesel driven vehicles. India is the fastest-growing economy in the world, where last-mile delivery of goods and services has played a crucial role in unlocking the growth po- tential, where we can expect a steady rise in consumer spend- Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Made India Ready for the Last-Mile Delivery through EV ELECTRIC VEHICLES Akash Gupta Co-Founder & CEO of Zypp Electric Covid-19 pandemic has also pushed the last mile delivery through Electric Vehicles. The two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments continue to dominate the Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry. Even after the Covid-19, the EV market will recover swiftly. In the EV segment, E-rickshaws, e-autos and e-two wheelers are the most promising segments for electrification in India and are expected to account for over four million units by 2025. 60 energetica INDIA- May-June_2021