Hero Lectro, FDL, and Turtle Mobility partners for e-cargo bikes for last-mile delivery
Hero Lectro, the electric vehicle arm of Hero Motors Company, has announced that it has partnered with logistics firms Fast Despatch Logistics and Turtle Mobility to position e-cargo bikes for the last-mile delivery.
Under an agreement between the parties, Hero Lectro's e-cargo bikes are being acquired by Turtle Mobility to be given out on lease to Fast Despatch Logistics (FDL), which also has plans to enhance its fleet of e-bikes to up to 15,000 by the end of this year.
The partnership comes close on the heels of Hero Lectro launching its first e-cargo bike WINN lately.
Besides, it also plans to introduce another purpose-built cargo vehicle soon for India's swiftly growing last-mile delivery space, the declaration said.
While FDL is a global last-mile delivery logistics company that has lately marked its entry into India, Turtle Mobility is a start-up that offers solutions for the last-mile delivery logistics needs comprising vehicles on lease.
Hero Lectro Cargo President and CEO Partha Choudhary said, "E-cargo bikes are set to emerge as a game-changer for the last-mile delivery space, as they offer a huge potential for increasing per-day shipment capacity and achieving cost optimization as compared to currently used internal combustion engine two-wheelers."
He added that while several e-commerce providers have expressed their intent to turn to e-mobility, the industry also needs an ecosystem for implementing this change. "Our partnership with FDL and Turtle Mobility is a step towards creating such an ecosystem under which logistics companies will be able to procure e-cargo bikes on lease and roll them out in the last-mile delivery space."
Fast Despatch Logistics CEO Gurvinder Birk said, "We are extremely excited for FDL and Hero Lectro collaboration in rolling out Hero Lectro Winn in Hyderabad and very soon."
He added that with the potential to considerably bring down the cost per shipment, these bikes are at present the best bet to offer a competitive advantage and cost optimization for last-mile logistics providers.
Turtle Mobility founder Kapil Gupta said, "The use of e-cargo bikes has become increasingly commonplace in western countries for their multiple benefits, including low carbon footprint, ease of access, low operational costs as well as cost optimization for last-mile deliveries."
Turtle Mobility's association with Hero Lectro and the feasible ecosystem this generates between vehicle suppliers, leasers and last-mile operators will help facilitate more LSPs to convert their fleets to these bikes, he added.
