GreenSpoon, Kenya’s first artisan online food store, has added the Nissan e-NV 200 to its fleet of delivery vehicles. It has partnered with Drivelectric, Kenya’s e-mobility solution provider, to electrify its fleet of delivery vehicles.
Driveelectric offers electric vehicle consultancy, installation of charging stations, and electric vehicle leasing packages. GreenSpoon prides itself on providing a transparent service to its customers by connecting consumers directly to farmers and producers, enabling consumers to know exactly where their food comes from and how it is produced. Their mission is to provide a platform for farmers and processors producing food that has the least impact on the environment, focusing on how the products are made and packaged. GreenSpoon continuously works with producers and customers to reduce packaging and to recycle as much as possible.
The addition of the e-NV200 to GreenSpoon’s delivery fleet has resulted in up to 50% of all deliveries being made by electric vehicle. GreenSpoon hopes to increase the share of electric deliveries even further in the next 6 months and is very passionate about reducing its carbon footprint.
The electric van is charged at GreenSpoon’s distribution center using solar power. With Kenya’s electricity generation mix already well above 70% renewables anyway, thanks to large contributions from geothermal and hydro, any electric vans deployed on the delivery routes will be running off some very clean electricity.
Deliveries by electric van are currently focusing on areas near the company’s distribution hub, like Karen, Langata, and Lavington. GreenSpoon works with a next-day delivery system. To get around the range limitations and to expand its delivery network using electric vans, GreenSpoon should consider partnering with another Kenyan EV start-up, Nopea Ride, which we covered here. GreenSpoon could get access to Nopea’s DC fast charging stations, allowing more frequent deliveries to areas like Runda, Gigiri, and the Thika Road area.
The savings GreenSpoon sees from the electric delivery vehicle can reach up to 70% of operating cost due to lower maintenance costs of EVs and cheaper “refuelling” costs by charging the electric vehicles with onsite solar.
The transport sector in Kenya accounts for significant amounts of emissions, with up to 39% of CO2 emissions coming from the transport sector. GreenSpoon hopes its door-to-door deliveries can help families reduce the number of grocery store trips, thereby reducing emissions. We certainly hope GreenSpoon can scale quickly and that its service achieves a critical mass in terms of adoption to drive a new wave of online grocery shoppers. There is certainly a problem to solve in Nairobi. Sitting in Nairobi’s infamous traffic must be quite an ordeal.
The door-to-door deliveries also present a good opportunity to expose the general public to the world of electric mobility. As they say, seeing is believing, and the more people see electric vans servicing routes daily, the more people will get confidence in electric vehicles for their own use.
Operators in the B2B segment should be looking actively into electrifying their fleets. Now that number-crunching fleet managers have a local case study for reference purposes, one hopes the partnership between GreenSpoon and Driveelectric Kenya can catalyze mass adoption of electric vehicles in the industry. Driveelectric Kenya is lowering the barriers to entry though its electric vehicle leasing program. The leasing program is taking away major risks for those that might still be a bit cautious when it comes to electrifying their fleets. Leasing takes away both the tech and the financial risks. Firms may be more comfortable with adopting a new technology if they know that it does not sit on their balance sheet. The monthly lease fees also mean that the firms are not tying down significant capital, freeing up cash for their core business or other operations.
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Photo courtesy Greenspoon
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