Piaggio, Jio-bp in talks with e-commerce players for EV infrastructure

Diego Graffi, chairman and managing director of Piaggio Vehicles, says the tie-up will provide vehicles and infrastructure to these firms

Piaggio Vehicles India, the local arm of the Italian automaker, and its partner Jio-bp are in talks with e-commerce players, such as Amazon and Flipkart, to convert part of their fleet into electric vehicles (EVs) and provide them with battery swapping infrastructure in a business-to-business model.

This will be part of a global tie-up between bp Plc and Piaggio Group to develop and roll out a comprehensive set of services for the rapidly growing number of two- and three-wheeled EVs across Europe, India, and Asia.

In India, Jio-bp, a fuels and mobility joint venture between Reliance Industries (RIL) and bp, is setting up battery swapping stations. The two will look at Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Benga­luru in the initial stage, before expa­n­ding to about 20 cities. Similar discussions for the conversion of the fleet are underway with some municipal bodies in Maharashtra and the Delhi Development Authority.

“The model that we will be using is mainly B2B business. Jio-bp and Piaggio will get in touch with e-commerce players to substitute their fleet with EVs. This is how we will start initially. Dealers will be there as a support for servicing of vehicles,” Diego Graffi, chairman and managing director of Piaggio Vehicles, told Business Standard.

“Our plan is to provide mobility solutions for e-commerce players. What we want to provide is having an established network of swapping stations. We can provide vehicles plus infrastructure for these players. Fleet ownership will be theirs,” Graffi said when asked about the advantage of such tie-ups.