CHENNAI: The state is eyeing the electrification of the platform economy with around 5% of the two-lakh commercial two-wheelers involved already found to be electric vehicles (EV), according to a report released on Thursday by Guidance TN and OMI foundation.
Bike taxis and food delivery services constitute a majority of vehicles in platform economy.
EV adoption in the commercial segment is experiencing rapid growth, particularly where vehicles are leased and owned by the delivery or fleet operators. This model faces fewer barriers like financing and charging infrastructure.
B2B providers like Zypp Electric, etc play a crucial role in this segment by providing EVs and supporting the charging infrastructure, states the report, which provides key insights and strategies for the electrification of commercial two-wheelers in the state.
The report states that drivers of taxis, rickshaws or delivery vehicles, who hitherto had no record of daily or monthly earnings, now have detailed statements of their past and current earnings and future earning potential, thanks to the digitisation of jobs by the business platforms. This information helps banks, NBFCs as well as new-age fintech companies to extend credit to the platform workers.
Though there is no system of collateral, financial institutions are extending cash flow-based loans to the new-age workers.
Many platform economy businesses like Zomato, Flipkart, Swiggy and Big Basket have started electrifying their fleets.
Other major companies like Ola and Uber have also made announcements of fleet-level electrification, which would also extend to two-wheeler bike taxis.
If half of commercial two-wheelers were to go electric, avoidance of at least 85,410 tonnes of CO2 could be achieved annually within the state.
The report, while comparing the total cost of ownership of an electric bike model for commercial operations with that of a petrol bike, states that users of electric two-wheelers can save Rs 1,15,000 - Rs 1,35,000 over three years.
The report states that EV two-wheeler adoption has gained momentum in Tamil Nadu, accounting for 86.18% of total EV sales in the state during the financial year 2022. The report was unveiled by Vishnu Venugopalan, managing director and chief executive officer of Guidance TN.