EV Adoption Survey Report Among Delivery Associates
A tech-abled last-mile logistics company, Grab recently conducted a survey to check the willingness to adopt electric vehicles among the delivery associates at Grab. The survey was conducted among 5094 delivery associates in 8 cities in India - Ahmedabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune & Bangalore.
Founded in 2014, Mumbai based Grab is a tech-abled last-mile logistics solution company that caters to businesses ranging from restaurants, online grocers, offline and online retail, e-commerce platforms, kirana stores, pharmacies, etc.
Grab is a subsidiary company of Reliance Industries (Reliance Retail), which holds an 80 per cent stake. The company is the exclusive in-house logistics provider for JioMart and is at the forefront of a venture.
Survey
Objective of the Survey
To check the willingness to adopt electric vehicles (EVs) among the delivery associates at Grab by understanding the barriers/risks related to operations, technology etc.
Abstract
The rise of fuel prices and increasing rate of inflation in recent years has impacted transport costs. This is pushing the commuters in general and delivery associates working for cost effective transportation/mobility solutions.
Adopting electric vehicles is a cheaper alternative. EVs have lower cost of operation than petrol vehicles.
Grab conducted the survey among 5094 delivery associates in 8 cities of India as, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune & Bangalore.
Sample of Survey – 5094 delivery associates
City | Respondents | Per cent share |
Mumbai | 1419 | 27.9 |
Delhi | 977 | 19.2 |
Bangalore | 786 | 15.4 |
Ahmedabad | 667 | 13.1 |
Chennai | 438 | 8.6 |
Hyderabad | 433 | 8.5 |
Pune | 324 | 6.4 |
Coimbatore | 50 | 1.0 |
Total | 5094 | 100.0 Per Cent |
Questions Asked
Question | Cohort |
Have you heard about an electric vehicle? | Bikers & Van DAs |
How many orders do you deliver in a day? | Bikers |
How many Kilometres do you travel each day to deliver orders? | Bikers |
How much do you spend for fuel in a day? | Bikers |
Would you like to own an affordable bike that can be used for delivery as well as Leisure & start saving 40 per cent (Rs. 2000-3000) more than your current savings? | Bikers |
Do you have existing loan from a Bank or Finance Organization? | Bikers |
Would you be interested in buying the vehicle at 35 per cent discounted rate & 2W loan with lower interest rate to buy a bike? | Bikers & Van DAs |
How many hours do you travel each day to deliver orders? | Van Delivery Associates |
How to you travel to the store and back home? | Van Delivery Associates |
How many Kilometres from home to store? | Van Delivery Associates |
Do you own a bike? | Van Delivery Associates |
Key Findings
a) 3/5th of the respondents want to buy the vehicle with rebates and discounts from Corporates/Central Govt/State Govt.
b) 56 per cent of the Van DA respondents already own a bike, but still use public transport to travel to the store/workplace.
c) 87 per cent are willing to buy an EV as a result of which they can save money and start earning more money (40 per cent upwards).
d) 49 per cent of the Van DAs own a bike but travel by public transport to reach the store, which means they want to save on fuel expenses.
e) The DAs travel about 26-50 km a day, which means ~ at least 1.5 litre of fuel is consumed to deliver the shipments. This amount of deliveries can be done at one third the cost of an ICE Vehicle.
f) 80 per cent of the total respondents are aged between 18 & 35. 40 per cent of the total are aged between 18 & 25. 40 per cent are aged between 26 and 35.
g) 97 per cent are aware of what an EV is.
h) 84 per cent of the respondents would want to buy it if Financing options are easily available.
Top Reasons for Not Buying an EV
1. Existing Loan on Petrol Bike
2. Unsure if EV can be used in long term.
3. Lack of Finance Options
4. Cannot Afford an EV because of higher initial cost
Survey Summary
It is clear from the survey that most respondents are already looking for ways to save fuel costs by traveling by public transport or by other means but would want to buy an EV if financing options are easily available. They also understand the long term benefits of buying an EV.
Plan of Action
a) Build an EV ecosystem/ Full stack solution by partnering with Financiers/ Charging Stations/ Repair & Maintenance Service etc so that the rider has no barriers to buy an EV.
b) Educate and drive awareness among the riders about the benefits of owning an EV (viz. low energy cost, low operating costs, etc...)
c) Educate and drive awareness among the riders about the policies/incentives/subsidies given by the central and state government, which will reduce their initial cost.
