Three Wheels United partners with Piaggio Vehicles to promote the adoption of electric 3-wheelers in India

Bengaluru, 18 August 2021: Three Wheels United (TWU), a Bengaluru-based tech-enabled financier of light electric vehicles, has partnered with Piaggio Vehicles to accelerate the adoption of Electric Three-wheelers in India. Under this partnership, Three Wheels United will immediately deploy 500 Piaggio Ape’ E City and Ape’ E-Xtra vehicles across India.

Three Wheels United, and Piaggio will jointly work towards promoting the adoption of Piaggio’s Ape’ E City and Ape’ E-Xtra. Three Wheels United will facilitate 3-Wheeler passenger vehicle and cargo vehicle drivers to switch from old vehicles with emissions to electric vehicles with almost zero emissions. Additionally, TWU will connect these drivers to aggregator platforms. Piaggio will offer the required support for maintenance and servicing of the vehicles, ensuring minimal downtime for operations. With this partnership, auto-rickshaw drivers not only receive support to switch from driving old pollutive vehicles to electric vehicles, but they will also get all the required support from TWU and Piaggio to operate these vehicles hassle-free and increase their earnings.

Commenting on the partnership, Cedrick Tandong, CEO and Co-Founder, Three Wheels United, said “We continue to expand our partnership with large electric vehicle manufacturers in a bid to make it easier for auto rickshaw drivers to switch to sustainable last-mile transportation. I am very excited to associate with Piaggio to drive the adoption of Ape’ E-city and Ape’ E-Xtra. Through our support, drivers can now easily shift to economical, highly profitable, and less pollutive vehicles”

Speaking on the tie-up, Mr. Diego Graffi, Chairman & MD Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. said, “Piaggio has been known for its path-breaking solutions in last-mile connectivity. Our recently launched passenger vehicle Ape’ E City and cargo variant Ape’ E-Xtra have received tremendous response from our customers. Through this partnership with Three Wheels United, we will further amplify our efforts towards creating eco-friendly last-mile connectivity.”

Ape’ E-City offers a revolutionary driving experience with zero-emission with nearly no noise and vibration making it a next-generation last-mile mobility solution for urban India. It comes with various class-leading features making it a unique proposition with advanced Li-ion batteries, automatic gearbox, superior power and torque, no gear and clutch, doors for safety, full digital cluster.

The new Ape’ E-Xtra FX is the most powerful electric cargo in the segment with a 9.5 KW power output. It comes with a proven full metal body architecture fitted with a useful 6 ft cargo deck length. It is also customizable for applications like the delivery van, garbage collector, etc.

Both the products come equipped with top-of-the-range features like blue vision headlamps, automatic transmission, hill hold assist, regenerative braking, dual-tone seats, striking body colors and graphics, multi-information instrument cluster, boost mode, etc. The FX fixed battery range offers convenient home and office charging features.

Piaggio is offering unique service solutions to ensure confidence and peace of mind to its electric customers. The vehicles are covered with a 3 year/1 lakh kilometre “Super warranty”. In addition to this, they offer a 3 Year Free Maintenance package as an introductory offer to all their customers. The Piaggio I-Connect telematics solution offers real-time vehicle data tracking for the customers and for PVPL service initiatives.

About Three Wheels United (TWU)

Three Wheels United is a Bangalore-based fintech company. TWU is a unique, tech-enhanced and innovative company that finances light electric vehicles, seeking to make electric vehicles accessible and support India’s vehicle fleet transition to electric. They employ behaviour-informed, proprietary technology to increase the accuracy of credit risk assessment and loan repayment rates, expanding access to financial products to populations that would be otherwise excluded from the vehicle financing. They have specialized in sustainable mobility in India for more than a decade, through which they have developed unparalleled knowledge of the driver experience and a unique first-mover advantage that has informed their hybrid model through which they combine human-centric UI/UX technology and traditional in-person microfinance management concepts to tailor the system to the needs of the drivers.

Founded by Cedrick Tandong, Kevin Wervenbos, and Apurv Mehra in 2017, Three Wheels United provides loans for drivers to make a switch from conventional rickshaws to electric rickshaws. Till date, Three Wheels United has worked with over 30,000 drivers offering them various products and services, financed 3500+ auto-rickshaws resulting in a reduction of 150,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions, and the generation of an extra $62M in income for the drivers.

About Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.
Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Piaggio Group. The Company commenced operations in India in 1999 with the launch of the three-wheeler brand Apé, which was an immediate success and has grown from strength to strength over the years. PVPL created the market, grew it, and has sustained a dominant position in the Diesel 3-wheeler segment. Piaggio is a leading player in the light transportation industry with a complete range of three-wheelers in Diesel, Petrol, CNG, LPG & Electric variants. The Company’s products are not only endorsed by approximately 3 million satisfied customers across India but also exported to more than 40 countries. Piaggio has a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Baramati in Maharashtra, with an installed annual production capacity of over 300,000 three-wheelers, 1,50,000 Two-wheelers. It is also self-reliant in some of the engine categories with its advanced engines plant with a production capacity of 1,50,000 Engines annually. Piaggio has an over 3000-strong workforce comprising experienced engineers, R&D specialists, plant workers, sales, service, and marketing professionals.