Mahindra Electric signs MoU with SmartE to make electric mobility more accessible

New Delhi (Urban Transport News): The Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd, part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, and SmartE, India’s largest electric vehicle fleet operator, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive electric mobility forward in India. Under the MoU, SmartE will introduce the first 1,000 Mahindra Treo and Treo Yaari electric three-wheelers in Delhi-NCR by March 2019. The company also plans to deploy a total of 10,000 Mahindra electric three-wheelers across the country by 2020.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric & Mr. Goldie Srivastava, CoFounder and CEO, SmartE, in New Delhi.

The two leading companies in the electric mobility market have come together, to offer convenient, affordable and zero-emission last-mile connectivity, not just for the NCR region but also for major cities around the country. The partnership is an example of collaboration between companies to address India’s growing need for clean, shared and public mobility solutions, and it aims to rapidly transform the overall EV adoption rate in the country.

 “As the pioneers of electric mobility, we are happy to joinforces with SmartE to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility. India iswitnessing rapid urbanization and metros are driving the multi-modal mobilityneeds of the large working population in urban cities. Our Treo range of three-wheelers will address the demand forfirst and last mile connectivity and transform the way urban India travels. Associations with partners such as SmartE will make it easier to adopt electric mobility and enable our cities to be more environmentally friendly”, said Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric while speaking on the occasion.

“We are excited to embark on this journeywith Mahindra Electric in our efforts to make the last-mile commute convenient,safe, affordable and eco-friendly for everyone. We look forward to shifting tothe zero-emission, cost-efficient, andmore comfortable Mahindra Treo range of electric three-wheelers”, said Goldie Srivastava, Co-Founder and CEO, SmartE.

“As a pioneer in the electric mobility service space, SmartEplans to roll-out 100,000 vehicles by 2022. We believe Mahindra Electric’s solutions will play a critical role in our growth strategy,” he added.

SmartE already has an ongoing partnership with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), among other organizations and delivers nearly 80,000 rides to commuters daily. SmartE has completed over 30 million pollution-freerides in the past three years since its inception and is India’s largestelectric vehicle operator today.

The MoU with Mahindra specifically addresses the last-mile connectivity needs of Delhi Metro commuters. SmartE, which has already built a captive EV charging network for 800 vehicles (concurrently) will be ramping up its EV Charging set-up to support the additional 1,000 vehicles in Delhi. With this addition, SmartE’sfleet of EVs will cross 2,000 vehicles by March 2019 and will help serve over 200,000 commuters per day.

As the global pioneer in the development and production of electric vehicles, Mahindra Electric currently has over 5,000 electric vehicles on road, which have clocked more than 95 million ekms. The Treo range of electric three wheelers uses Mahindra Electric’s homegrown powertrain and Maintenance-free lithium-ion battery. The variants includethe Treo electric auto and Treo Yaari electric rickshaw, both available in an industry first, hard top, weatherproof variants. With the use of exceptional light-weighting technologies and composite body panels, the Treo boasts a certified range of 170 km (eAuto) and 129 km (eRickshaw) directly addressing range anxiety in the market.