Designing for Last Mile Deliveries | Interaction with Namit Jain, Zen Mobility

Zen Mobility is the maker of the large-order delivery vehicles launched by Zomato. In this interview with CEO and Founder Namit Jain, we discuss their design philosophy for last-mile delivery vehicles and expansion plans.

Please brief us on Zen Mobility and its focus areas as an OEM.

We’ve focused on R&D for the past 4 to 5 years, assessing and evaluating the last-mile delivery market, including food delivery, grocery delivery, e-commerce, and big commerce. Especially after COVID, this industry is growing exponentially. 

Zomato was one of our first customers, and we developed a customized vehicle for their large-order food deliveries. Over the past 6 to 7 months, we’ve deployed about 1,000 vehicles with them across 11 cities, and it’s been a great journey for us. We’ve also had the chance to expand our service network, dealerships, and infrastructure in these cities, which means we’re ready to scale up with other clients. 

In the last few months, we’ve been deploying vehicles with other companies like Delhivery and Ecom Express in the 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) segment. We’re also doing pilots with Amazon and Flipkart at the moment and talking to Big Basket. We’ve deployed the first large-order fleet for Blinkit, which started in October and will continue to grow in the coming months.

What trends do you think are shaping the future of last-mile mobility in India? 

In the last mile, typically, for the past 3 to 5 years, there have been two modes of transport. One is a two-wheeler, which a rider can carry around 30 to 50 kgs, roughly 10 cubic feet of packages. But that can overburden them and isn’t very safe for carrying so much. The second option is a 500 to 1,500 kg, or one-ton loader, a large vehicle with the capacity but expensive running costs. 

So, there was a big gap between the 50 kg and the 500 kg capacity, which we identified at Zen. It wasn’t about the form factor but filling the gap to provide an economical way to deliver goods with a 100 to 200 kg packet size or a 50-60 cubic feet volume. 

In the future, quick commerce, which today is primarily focused on grocery deliveries, will eventually expand to appliances, clothing, and various D2C brands. These items will be slightly larger and won’t fit on a two-wheeler, so they’ll need a larger vehicle. That’s where our vehicle comes in—it becomes the most economical and safest solution for larger orders on the road.

Can you tell us your design philosophy while manufacturing or conceptualising the vehicles?

Design is something we’ve been focusing on a lot. Typically, commercial vehicles have this perception of being boxy—where you have a front cabin and a rear box, and they have become quite typical over the years. However, designing something more aesthetic and aspirational for the riders doesn’t require excessive resources. It needs more engineering hours and a clear vision of how the product should come out. We must design and build vehicles specifically for their intended applications, where R&D plays a crucial role. We’ve focused on building for purpose, not just meeting the basic requirements. Customers might want the biggest space possible, but one needs to consider the limitations of electric mobility. As the vehicle gets heavier with the increased load capacity, it needs more battery and power, which increases costs. We’ve ensured that our vehicles are lightweight, which helps them become more cost-effective.

Regarding your current scale of operations and manufacturing capacity, can you share some details with us?

We have set up a large plant in Manesar, Gurgaon, which we started in January 2024. Our overall capacity is 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles per year. We are expanding gradually and will scale up operations step by step. We’ve also ensured that our entire vehicle is 100% built in India and our supply chain is entirely local. Most of our suppliers are based in Delhi NCR. Currently, we have one variant, but we are working on multiple variants. 

We currently have over 1,000 vehicles on the road, possibly 1,200, spread across 11 cities. These vehicles are serving various brands, customers, and segments.

What are your current sales channels?

We work with all kinds of sales models. The fleet operations model works best, where we supply the vehicles to fleet operators through financing or leasing companies, and then they handle the deliveries for our end clients. This is the approach we are currently following.

How receptive were the financing companies when you approached them with this new product?

Initially, we faced several challenges because this was the first time anyone had seen a vehicle like this. The first question was always, “How will this vehicle perform on the road?” However, we had partners like Stride Green who were confident about the product from the start, partly because of our background in the automotive industry. We’ve been in the auto segment for 40 years and understand this space well. We began with a couple of partners, and as we scaled up, the confidence grew from both our customers and leasing partners. We believe in our vehicle and provide the necessary warranties, including 3-4 years for the battery and other components. This reassures the customer that the warranty covers it even if something goes wrong, and all these assurances are in place for the vehicle.

Hyperlocal deliveries in India seem to thrive on the lack of livelihood opportunities for economically weaker youth. Gig workers race against time to deliver packages for 50-60 bucks per delivery. So, while mobility innovations in this segment address safety and delivery efficiency, do they also enable this exploitative business model?

That’s an interesting question. It’s a growing economy, and the demand for hyperlocal or quick commerce deliveries is increasing exponentially. Dark stores are opening at every corner of the city, and the market is booming. What we need to focus on is understanding the limitations and ensuring there are standards and guidelines that all companies should adhere to. There must be certain basics in place. We need to facilitate these deliveries by providing safer modes of transport, better vehicles, and, of course, better income for the workers. Additionally, it’s important to provide the proper infrastructure. 

Manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, leasing companies, customers, and fleet operators all need to work together to ensure gig workers have the best facilities to deliver goods in the safest way while remaining productive and economical for the companies.

What new products are in the pipeline for Zen Mobility? So far, we’ve seen the micro vehicle that Zomato uses and heard about the Maxi Pod vehicle you’re working on. 

We are launching a larger 4-wheeler skateboard platform, which we’ve been working on for the past two years. It’s a modular skateboard platform where the complete architecture and drivetrain of the vehicle are housed underneath. On top of that, you can add the vehicle’s body, whether it’s for delivery purposes or passenger use. Modularity and scalability are key aspects we’re focusing on. You’ll see more updates early next year.

Also read: Zen Mobility launches EV Micro Pod for Last Mile Delivery