Battery-swapping ecosystem provider, Gogoro has collaborated with Zomato and Kotak Mahindra Prime, a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The partnership will focus on accelerating the adoption of sustainable electric vehicles by delivery partners that are on board with Zomato offering them new, more favorable loan terms which the partners say are not available in India today.
The companies will offer last-mile delivery partners with affordable loan terms and battery-swapping services that enable them to adopt sustainable transportation. Gogoro battery swapping and smart scooters offer safe, reliable, and always available energy, while tethered electric charging still requires dedicated parking and charge time that reduces delivery partner availability and income.
It is important to note that Zomato had recently also announced its partnership with Sun Mobility to onboard the adoption of 50,000 electric two-wheelers with battery-swapping tech.
At present, Zomato says it has more than 300,000 delivery partners and it has committed to The Climate Group’s EV100 initiative to transition to 100 percent EV-based deliveries by 2030.
Horace Luke, Founder & CEO, Gogoro said, “The urban transformation to electric transportation in India’s cities has begun and it is essential that we provide delivery partners with an accessible path to own and leverage the benefits that smart electric two-wheel vehicles and battery swapping offer. Gogoro Network battery swapping and vehicles provide a proven track record of safety and security that Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) like Kotak Prime can embrace and support.”
Mohit Sardana, COO – Food Delivery, Zomato said, “Electric two-wheelers powered by affordable, reliable, and accessible battery swapping solutions can positively impact delivery partner pay-outs, apart from reducing air pollution.”
As part of the understanding, Kotak Mahindra Prime will provide more accessible loan terms for sustainable transportation and will utilize the unique security features in Gogoro’s Smartscooter, including 100-percent user authentication that makes it very difficult to steal. Additionally, payment delinquency will be very low because access to battery swapping can be paused.
Vyomesh Kapasi, MD and CEO, Kotak Mahindra Prime said, “Sustainable transportation and easy loan access to the consumers is the key,”