Eicher, Amazon join hands to deploy electric trucks for middle, last-mile deliveries

Eicher trucks and buses, a division of VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, on Wednesday said it has entered into a collaboration with Amazon for electrification of the middle-mile and last-mile delivery operations of the e-commerce major in India.

Under the collaboration, the company is aiming to introduce up to 1,000 zero-emission electric trucks across various payload categories into Amazon’s delivery operations over the next five years, deployed through Amazon’s transport service partners, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) said in a statement. Amazon will progressively deploy 50 Eicher electric trucks in major hubs like Delhi, Manesar, and Gurugram over the coming months as a first step, it added.

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“This partnership reflects our commitment to promoting smart sustainable solutions and developing a zero-emission transport ecosystem,” VECV Managing Director and CEO Vinod Aggarwal said. Amazon India Vice-President Customer Fulfilment, Amazon Transportation Services, Global Specialty Fulfilment, and Supply Chain, Abhinav Singh said,”We remain committed and are well on our way to integrate 10,000 EVs into our delivery fleet in India by 2025.” “We continue to invite fellow innovators and solution providers in the electric mobility and sustainable transportation space to join us in accelerating decarbonisation of the logistics industry,” he further said.

Eicher’s electric trucks featuring advanced digital capabilities will be built on its established electric vehicle platform already in operation in bus applications, the statement said. The trucks with deck lengths of 8 -24 feet will come equipped with customised cargo stacking configurations, and fast and slow charging options will also be provided to meet the needs of specific operations. The service solution also factors in availability of charging infrastructure, operational requirements, charging time constraints, battery capacity, and overall energy management strategies of the fleet.