Piaggio Vehicles Pvt.Ltd is a private company based in India. For the expansion of its electric vehicle business, India’s largest producer of small commercial vehicles has teamed with City Link Portal Pvt.Ltd, a leading technology-enabled within city logistics start-up.
Last year, Piaggio added more than 50 dealers across India to its electric vehicle business network. The City Link is fast evolving in the EV last-mile area, and its large EV portfolio is showing signs of progress.
The City Link announced in a statement that it began its “Think Green, Think EV” project and entered the EV category.
“Piaggio is happy to contribute to City Link’s Think Green Think EV project by supplying Ape’ Electrik lineup of vehicles,” stated Mr. Saju Nair, EVP-CV Business, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. With over 30 lac happy customers and rising, Piaggio Ape is poised to accelerate the EV transition in India by offering a wide range of products to meet a wide range of customer needs, as well as different types of charging options, such as a swappable and fixed battery. We are confident that our technology will enable City Link in providing sustainable, efficient & lower operating cost goods delivery solution to its customers.”
Mr. Puneet Prakash, Co-founder, and CEO of City Link said “Having resolved to grow responsibly and continue to bring value to all our customers, vendor partners, and drivers, this association with Piaggio holds immense value for us. Though we had anticipated a fleet of 100 EVs, we are optimistic that with the addition of Piaggio, we will more than double our EV range this fiscal year. City Link is convinced that besides being environment friendly, EVs are expected to drive ROI and bring down delivery costs when compared to existing alternatives”.
The company announced its presence in Bangalore with the opening of its experience center in October. With its electric vehicle network, it is reaching out to every state. Mobility Motors, the company’s EV experience center, opened in Bangalore. B Sriramlu, Karnataka’s Minister of Transport Department and Tribal Welfare, officially opened the dealership.
For its Bangalore customers, this new dealership will serve as a platform for Piaggio’s newly announced FX series (fixed battery) of EVs in both cargo and passenger versions.
It also teamed with EV fleet operator MoEVing for the introduction of electric vehicles in September. By 2022, the MoEVing plans to add 500 Piaggio Ape’ E-Xtra FX three-wheeler tempo to their fleet.
The Ape e-Xtra FX is equipped with a six-foot cargo deck and a 9.5 kWh lithium-ion battery. It can be adjusted to fit the needs of the function, such as delivery vans and garbage collectors, for example. Blue vision headlamps, regenerative braking, multi-information instrument cluster, and boost mode, hill hold assistance, and automatic gearbox are all included in the new e-three-wheelers.
Apart from FMCG, the e-cargo three-wheeler can also handle e-commerce, gas cylinders, mineral water bottles, and vegetable transportation. Piaggio further says that the vehicle has a lower operating cost and can provide low-cost last-mile delivery. “It’s the ideal choice for last-mile transportation because of its zero emissions and outstanding drive,” said Malind Kapur, the company’s Senior Vice President.
Through an integrated approach of demand aggregation, supply optimization, and linked charging infrastructure, the collaboration will help to promote the adoption of electric three-wheelers in India’s last-mile transportation segment. The MoEVing will further magnify efforts to develop inexpensive and sustainable last-mile connectivity, according to Saju Nair, Executive Vice President for CV Business, Piaggio Vehicles.