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Battery swap is the answer for B2C delivery

Sun Mobility Swap Point

I have been seeing ‘Sun Mobility’ swap points everywhere in Delhi. I never thought too much about it until yesterday.

Yesterday I heard Chetan Maini(1) (2) speak about the logic of swappable batteries, particularly for fleets focusing on intra-city deliveries. Let me lay out his argument as I understand it.

Imagine you’re Zomato or Swiggy. You’re not just a food delivery app; you’re also managing the fleet delivering this food. You’ve got to think about delivery costs that you’ll eventually need to pass on to someone—either the customer ordering the food or the restaurant.

Now think about Zypp or Eveez (as shown in the image above). Both are electric scooter fleet operators. They pitch to Zomato, offering to handle deliveries within a certain price range. Now, the differentiator for them is going electric. Electricity for scooters costs less than petrol, so there’s a margin to play with here. Zypp then partners with Sun Mobility (Chetan Maini’s company), who’s invested heavily in batteries and swap points across the city. This setup means a Zypp rider can just swap a dying battery for a charged one as needed. This swapping happens within minutes at a Sun Mobility swap point.

Zypp can keep initial costs low by buying scooters without batteries, which are cheaper than traditional vehicles. And the per-unit electricity cost from Sun Mobility is easily covered by the delivery fees from Zomato, which in turn, gets passed on to Zomato’s customers.

Now, let’s consider the alternative approach which Zypp can take. Zypp decides to go solo, buying a fleet of EVs with fixed batteries. They face a hefty upfront cost, the headache of managing a charging network, and the anxiety of batteries running dry or, worse, facing a defect. It’s a fleet manager’s nightmare, considering the debt and interest payments that don’t stop even when the scooters are off the road.

This is my current reading of this space. I will update as and when my thinking evolves further.

Notes:

(1) Chetan is the founder of India’s first electric car Reva.
(2) Link to the chat. Start listening from 1:21:30

Disclosure: Please note that I may hold investments in the companies mentioned. I encourage you to conduct thorough due diligence before making any investment decisions.