Three Wheels United (TWU), a Bengaluru based tech enabled financier of light electric vehicles, has forayed into the cargo segment through partnership with intra city logistics company Porter. Through this partnership, Three Wheels United will facilitate loans for partner drivers of Porter to easily switch from conventional cargo autos to EV cargo vehicles. This partnership is in line with Three Wheels United’s commitment to increase the adoption of electric auto rickshaws in India and promote sustainable mobility.
As per a report by Greenpeace South East Asia, the economic cost of air pollution is at an estimated US$ 150 billion in India. The report states that clean transport and renewable energy not only bring significant reductions in toxic pollutants, but also help to keep climate change causing greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. A switch from conventional engines to electric three wheelers can reduce carbon emissions and substantially contribute towards bringing down air pollution.
One of the key impediments for large scale adoption of EV three wheelers is the lack of available financing for drivers to easily switch to a less polluting vehicle. The financing options available for light vehicles require an extremely high down payment. Availing a loan is therefore much harder for drivers. Although the long term benefits of electric auto rickshaws such as lower total cost of ownership and higher profitability compared to fuel operated ones are attractive, their upfront cost is higher. The company was founded with an aim to remove these barriers in the adoption of electric vehicles. The company provides loans covering up to to 100 per cent of the asset cost.
Commenting on the partnership, Pranav Goel, CEO and Co-Founder, Porter said, “As a leading intra city logistics company, we are committed to building an eco-system that will bring down carbon footprint and operations cost for our driver partners. As a first step we have partnered with Three Wheels United, a technology enabled financier of light electric vehicles, to provide easy financing options and help our driver partners procure EV at lucrative terms. This partnership will provide a great opportunity for our partner drivers to shift to a more economical, highly profitable and less pollutive vehicle.”