Mahindra Electric, SmartE join hands to deploy electric 3-wheelers in fleet; to enhance EV charging network

New Delhi: Mahindra Electric and SmartE, an electric vehicle fleet operator, on Wednesday announced a partnership with plans to deploy 10,000 electric three-wheelers across the country by 2020. Under the partnership, SmartE will introduce 1,000 Mahindra Treo and Treo Yaari electric three-wheelers in Delhi-NCR by March 2019 with an aim of transforming last mile connectivity. “To start with, SmartE has already taken 50 Treo range of electric three-wheelers from us. The plan is to deploy 1,000 such vehicles in Delhi-NCR by March 2019,” Mahindra Electric CEO Mahesh Babu told reporters here. [caption id=“attachment_4206635” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The partnership has the potential to expand pan India, he said, adding “the plan is to deploy 10,000 such vehicles by 2020”. Last month, Mahindra Electric had launched its first lithium ion electric three-wheeler range Treo and Treo Yaari with starting price of Rs 1.36 lakh (ex-showroom Bengaluru). SmartE co-founder and CEO Goldie Srivastava said the company plans to roll out a total of one lakh vehicles by 2022 through its fleet. “We believe Mahindra Electric’s solutions will play a critical role in our growth strategy,” he added. SmartE, which already has an ongoing partnership with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation among other partners, plans to deploy the Treo three-wheelers at metro stations in Delhi-NCR region, he added. The partnership, he said will play a key role in making the last mile commute eco-friendly besides making it more convenient and safe. Srivastava said SmartE has already built captive EV charging network for 800 vehicles concurrently and will be ramping it up further to support 1,000 vehicles in Delhi-NCR. With the additional vehicles, the company will cross 2,000 mark by March 2019 and would help ferry 2 lakh commuters per day, he added. When asked about the company’s expansion, he said the plan is to have network across India. He, however, declined to comment on details and the next cities where SmartE planned to foray in the near future.