
Coca-Cola’s bottling companions in India are going electrical, three wheels at a time. The corporate simply introduced a serious growth of its electrical supply fleet, including 1000’s of electrical three-wheeled automobiles (typically referred to as e-rickshaws or electrical tuk-tuks) to its logistics operations throughout the nation.
These compact electrical automobiles are already a standard sight on India’s roads, used for the whole lot from passenger transport to last-mile cargo deliveries. Now Coca-Cola’s bottlers are ramping up their use of those environment friendly EVs as a part of a broader sustainability and welfare initiative dubbed “Vividhta ka Uphaar,” which interprets to “a present of range.”
In line with the corporate, the rollout is already underway, with greater than 5,000 electrical three-wheelers built-in into supply routes in cities reminiscent of Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, and extra. The automobiles not solely cut back tailpipe emissions but in addition decrease noise air pollution and working prices, making them a win for each the corporate and the communities they serve.

Coca-Cola joins a rising checklist of multinational companies turning to electrical tuk-tuks to wash up their supply fleets in Asia. IKEA has deployed related electrical three-wheelers in India and different Southeast Asian international locations as a part of its push to realize zero-emissions deliveries. Amazon and Flipkart have additionally experimented with three-wheeled EVs to achieve city prospects on tight, traffic-clogged streets.
Whereas North America typically focuses on four-wheeled electrical vans and vans for business use, a lot of the creating world depends on these nimble three-wheeled workhorses. Inexpensive, maneuverable, and straightforward to cost, electrical rickshaws are a pure match for dense cities with scorching climates – particularly the place small companies and enormous companies alike want environment friendly last-mile options.
Electrek’s Take
All these EVs can’t come quickly sufficient. They use electrical drivetrains which can be nearer in dimension to an electrical bicycle than an electrical supply truck or van (normally 2-4kW motors and 3-5 kWh batteries), but can carry hundreds nearer in dimension to those self same vans and vans.
Positive, they’ll’t carry fairly the identical tonnage, however they’re typically extra appropriately sized for the sort of last-mile supply that so many corporations require.
I really purchased an electrical tuk-tuk again in 2023 and located it to be the proper ‘metropolis truck’ for my way of life, the place I dwell car-free in a metropolis and my spouse and I journey by e-bike and e-motorcycle. For the few occasions we have to really haul stuff, an electrical tuk-tuk or rickshaw offers truck-like capability in a smaller and extra environment friendly car. What’s to not like?!
Photographs by way of: Coca-Cola




