Etrio launches eLCV, India’s first certified retrofitted electric light commercial vehicle

Etrio, India's fastest growing electric vehicle start-up launched the country's first retrofitted electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV). This is a first-of-its-kind initiative to transform and electrify intra-city logistics with a production capacity of 5000 vehicles annually. The company's 30,000 Sq Ft manufacturing facility is based out of Hyderabad.

Retrofitment allows the over 2 Mn Tata Aces' plying on the road, a new lease of life with 5+ years of life extension. Etrio's follows a scientific approach towards retrofitment. The vehicle selection starts with a 150-point checklist followed by stripping of the vehicle of its internal combustion parts. This is followed by mechanical and electrical retrofitment processes. The final cog in the machine is the testing and quality inspection process, post which vehicles are rolled out for customers.

Commenting on the announcement, Deepak MV, Co-founder & CEO, Etrio said, "It is a transformational move with the capacity introduction at this level. We are proud to launch Etrio's eLCV which through our scientific retrofitment process revives the earning of the driver owner by saving almost 60% of the operational expenses and makes diesel guzzling LCV into a green productive vehicle. This will not only reshape the e-commerce logistics space but also have a deeper impact on the EV ecosystem. We have already received interest of over 1200 eLCV as we speak."

Etrio's eLCV is powered with a Lithium Ion battery of 20 KWH on a high voltage 96 V system and has a certified range of 120 kms. The vehicle with a rated motor power of 15KW delivers a torque 120 NM and can overcome a gradient of 7 degrees. Etrio Track, a telematics app, provides critical health metrics at a vehicle and component level, enables key safety features including geo-fencing, remote immobilization and delivers data driven insights through unique driver scorecards to drive operational efficiency.

The product tested and perfected through rigorous R&D work covering a distance of 1.5 lakh kms has become the toast of the intra-city logistics space and today is trusted and used by over 10+ leading e-commerce and logistics companies including LetsTransport, Ikea, BigBasket, Mahindra Logistics etc.

The e-LCV pricing starts at Rs.7.75 lacs (on road- Delhi) and can compete in the marketplace with a diesel counterpart on the Total Cost of ownership, a major milestone for an EV across segments.

"We go beyond an OEM and work seamlessly providing full solutions for logistic and e-commerce players including driver training and guidance on charging infrastructure setup. It's about time that various stakeholders including the government recognize the dual benefits of retrofitting, namely decarbonizing the environment and decongesting roads. With our data-driven approach and usage of telematics, we aim to be the leading EV player for intra-city logistics with superior product and capabilities.", he further added.

Pushkar Singh, Co-founder & CEO, LetsTransport said, "With high delivery costs in India, recasting incumbent cost structure is inevitable. Electrification of light commercial trucks will be at the forefront of this disruption as the product-market-use case fit is achieved. Further, this also circumvents other implementation challenges, such as charging infrastructure, range anxiety etc. Having aggregated over 60,000 mini truck owners, we know first-hand that this underserved community feels the brunt of the cost of ownership the most when compared to any owners of any other vehicle segment, including passenger segment. I congratulate Etrio for this launch and look forward to our association in enabling this ecosystem forward."

Echoing the sentiment, Preet Dhupar, CFO, Ikea comments, "Sustainability is key to our agenda and therefore, electric mobility becomes the part of our agenda as well. Our goal is to have deliveries via zero carbon emissions."

KBN Nagaraju, Head of Innovation, BigBasket said, "We are one of the pioneers in introducing EVs in our fleets in the country. We partner with players who have the same synergies as us."

"It is an exciting time for EVs, especially Etrio with this launch. Their retrofitment technology is great and such a change will create more value and will give a good chance for the entire ecosystem to be formed." Aravind Sivakumar, Product Head, Milk Run, and Last Mile, Mahindra Logistics shared.