Indian state hopes to persuade Amazon, Uber, others to go electric faster

Reuters

India's Maharashtra state will offer companies like Amazon.com Inc and Uber new incentives to electrify their delivery fleets ahead of a 2025 target for cleaner air, its environment minister told Reuters.

One of India's richest states and home to the financial hub of Mumbai, Maharashtra is an important market for e-commerce, ride-hailing and food delivery companies. Last year, it set a target for such companies to electrify 25 per cent of their fleet by 2025.

Now it wants to bring the target forward by offering companies higher incentives for bulk purchase of electric vehicles (EVs), the state minister, Aaditya Thackeray, told Reuters in an interview.

"We are trying to be on the earlier side of 2025 and see if companies can get certain more incentives and move sooner. This not only benefits us in terms of cleaner air but also benefits them in terms of economies and their revenue models," he said.

Companies the state is likely to approach in the next month include Amazon, Uber, Walmart's Flipkart, Softbank Group-backed ridesharing firm Ola and food-delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy.

The push comes weeks after India's capital, New Delhi, issued strict draft rules for companies to get a licence on the condition that a certain percentage of their new fleet is electric.

The Maharashtra government has yet to make its offer to the companies and Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, Zomato and Swiggy did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the possibility of speeding up the electrification process.

Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato and Swiggy have previously set out EV targets for 2025 and 2030, and Uber is working with EV companies to introduce electrification in its fleet.

More from International News

  • American Cardinal Prevost elected new pope

    US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV, becoming the first American pontiff.

  • White smoke emerges, signalling new pope is elected

    White smoke appeared from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Thursday, signalling that the 133 Roman Catholic cardinals meeting in a secret conclave have elected a new pope.

  • Bill Gates to give away $200 billion by 2045

    Bill Gates has pledged to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.

  • Reports of explosions, blackout in India's Jammu

    Blasts rang out across the city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir late on Thursday during what Indian military sources said they suspected was a Pakistani drone attack on the second day of clashes between the two neighbours.

  • Ukraine's cities quiet as Kremlin-sponsored ceasefire kicks in

    A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine's major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles.

News