Rapido Partners With IndoFast Energy To Deploy 10,000 Swappable Piaggio EVs Across The Country

*        Under this project, IndoFast Energy (A 50-50 Joint Venture of IndianOil and SUN Mobility) is going to deploy 100+ stations in Hyderabad and 200+ stations in Bangalore by the end of December 2024.

*        In a push towards sustainable mobility, Rapido is focusing on incorporating swappable electric autos for a significant portion of its daily rides.

*        Piaggio’s swappable e-autos, E-City Max, are already integrated with SUN Mobility’s battery swapping technology, allowing for limitless range and zero downtime.

In a move towards sustainable mobility, Rapido, India's leading bike, auto, and cab aggregator platform, has partnered with IndoFast Energy - a 50-50 joint venture of IOCL and SUN Mobility, to roll out 10,000 of Piaggio’s swappable e-autos, E-city Max, across India in the next 24 months. Starting with Hyderabad, Bangalore and other major cities in southern India, the partnership will add over 1000, EVs to the country’s public transport system by December 2024.

The partnership between Rapido and IndoFast Energy began with a pilot in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi in 2023, with the aim to integrate IndoFast Energy’s advanced swappable battery technology into Rapido’s platform, enhancing the accessibility, efficiency, and convenience of electric vehicles. 

Building on the success of the pilot program launched by the two companies, the collaboration has facilitated the establishment of 100+ swap stations in Hyderabad and Bangalore, allowing auto captains to swap batteries and minimize downtime. Rapido aims to cater to around 20% of its daily rides using swappable electric autos.

"At Rapido, our mission is to provide affordable, convenient, and eco-friendly mobility solutions. This partnership with IndoFast Energy allows us to significantly enhance our EV offerings on the platform, aligning with our commitment to sustainability," said Mr. Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder of Rapido. " “By introducing swappable electric autos operated by our Captains, we're not only reducing the carbon footprint but also empowering our drivers with sustainable earning opportunities, setting a new benchmark for the ride-hailing industry.”

Anant Badjatya, CEO, Indofast Energy, said, “Our partnership with Rapido marks a key milestone in our effort to make commuting more sustainable and accessible. This joint initiative is a direct result of the success of the pilot we started with Rapido almost a year back. We will now expedite our deployment across India including in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai to make this initiative a great success” 

Mr Diego Graffi, Chairman and MD, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt ltd said, “As pioneers of 3W electric mobility in India, today, we have over 50,000 Ape Electrik vehicles running across the country.  Of these, already over 2500 Ape Electrik vehicles have a swappable battery solution and many of these have run over 1 lacs kms. We are proud of the performance, robustness, durability, and ease of usage that Ape Electrik provides customers with. By partnering with Rapido and IndoFast Energy, we aim to deploy over 10,000 3W EV swappable battery vehicles in 24 months across India. With negligible down time for EVs, swappable battery solution is cost effective and promising future of EVs.  This partnership would be a significant contribution to India’s EV mission as well as a push for the benefits of a swappable battery solution.”

IndoFast Energy’s swap stations are designed for swift battery exchanges, enabling users to swap depleted batteries for fully charged ones in under two minutes. The network of swap stations allows for ‘EV refueling’ faster, cheaper, and more convenient than conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. This solution also works on a pay-per-use model that empowers EV users to pay for only the energy used per swap. IndoFast Energy also recently announced its plan to set up 10,000 swapping stations across 40+ cities in the next 3 years to cater to the rising demand for swappable EVs.  

Rapido along with Indofast Energy is also exploring the introduction of high-speed premium two-wheelers and retrofitted three-wheelers onto its platform to further diversify its eco-friendly ride-hailing offerings.