Eternal, parent of Zomato and Blinkit, reworks its 2030 100% EV delivery fleet target
Anjalli Ravi Kumar, the company's Chief Sustainability Officer, told PTI that Eternal is working towards a revised timeline that factors in EV availability, supporting government policies and the transport needs of its various businesses.
Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, is reassessing its 2030 target for a 100% electric delivery fleet. Anjalli Ravi Kumar, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, told PTI that Eternal is working towards a revised timeline that factors in EV availability, supporting government policies and the transport needs of its various businesses.
Kumar said the earlier deadline may not be achievable, and that the company is working towards a new date, possibly 2035. That decision will depend partly on whether EV policies have rolled out sufficiently across the country.
Kumar said the business has grown considerably since the original target was set. There were then 1.5 lakh monthly active riders on Zomato, against 12 lakh riders across Zomato and Blinkit today. She said maintaining that base requires onboarding 30 lakh people a year across 900 cities, and that Eternal cannot guarantee all of them will have reliable access to an EV.
The new target will also cover more than two-wheelers. Hyperpure, Eternal’s supply business, uses four-wheeler delivery vehicles including trucks and smaller commercial vehicles, so Kumar said targets must now be set for the group as a whole.
Delivery partners generally arrange their own vehicles, so Eternal encourages EV use through financial incentives, rental options on its delivery partner app and awareness initiatives such as the EV Bazaar, rather than mandating a vehicle type.
Zomato also pays delivery partners using EVs as much as those using petrol vehicles, despite the lower operating costs of EVs.
Eternal says its delivery fleet already has higher EV adoption than the broader Indian two-wheeler market. In an estimate made around last December, about 12-13% of its partners used EVs, against 6-7% for the wider market.
Kumar said Eternal is advocating worker-friendly EV policies so the shift does not restrict jobs for people who may not be in a position to purchase an EV.
”We are still committed to electrifying the fleet. We are deeply committed to it because it still makes economic sense,” Kumar said.
