In line with its earlier partnership with OLA, Mahindra Electric has now joined hands with Meru Cabs to offer electric cab services in Hyderabad. Unlike Ola which would be running e20 Plus electric sedan, the Mahindra-Meru partnership will use Mahindra’s eVerito, all-electric four-door sedan. The eVeritos service which was announced on Earth day is part of Mahindra’s aim to promote the adoption of EV technology among the urban masses and also be the flag bearer for sustainable e-mobility transportation in urban areas. The eVeritos, for the time being, will be launched as a pilot EV project and gradually be expanded across the length and breadth of the country.
Meru has been a pioneer when it comes to tech-enabled cab services. Mahindra Electric has been the flag bearer for EV movement for more than a decade now whereas Meru cabs have been running completely on green fuel in cities where CNG is available. The Mahindra-Meru partnership seems like a marriage made in heaven. Mahesh Babu, CEO Mahindra Electric expressed his excitement and hopes on the union. Addressing the media he said, “As pioneers of electric mobility, we at Mahindra Electric are happy to lead electric fleet adoption in India and are glad to partner with Meru for pilot deployment of eVeritos in Hyderabad. We believe that innovative and unique partnership models like this pilot, will lead the way towards sustainable transportation in urban cities.”
Nilesh Sangoi, CEO, Meru was full of positive projections for the rapidly growing EV market. As per him, viability was no longer a concern and also appreciated the Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission. He pegged high hopes on EVs’ potential to bring down the air pollution levels and curbing the country’s energy bills. He further added,” Based on the learnings of this pilot, we will expand this initiative to induct more EVs in our network in other cities that we operate in. Over next 4 years, we intend to move a major part of our fleet to EVs. We believe that this initiative will greatly benefit the society, consumers and also enhance the earnings of our driver partners.”
Residents and travelers in Hyderabad can avail The eVerito cab services via Meru’s website, mobile app, call center (4422-4422). e Verito services will also be available at the Meru Zone at Hyderabad airport. The cost for the services will be same as fixed by the Telangana Government’s radio taxi fares for sedans. However, it would still be interesting to see how the pilot project pans out for the two major companies amidst reports of complaints by cab drivers in Nagpur who were unhappy running the e20 Plus due to long charging hours and a dearth of standard infrastructure for EV’s.