Instamart ties up with Yulu, Yuma Energy for delivery partner battery swapping
Instamart has partnered Yulu and Yuma Energy to bring battery swapping stations closer to its electric two-wheeler delivery partners.
Quick commerce company Instamart has made a major push into electric mobility to speed up and ease last-mile delivery. The company has partnered with Yulu and Yuma Energy to bring battery swapping facilities closer to its delivery partners, a move expected to cut charging time for riders using electric two-wheelers.
The company is also focused on reducing the initial cost of using electric vehicles and the downtime caused by charging. Both vehicle availability and energy infrastructure are seen as key to increasing EV use in last-mile delivery.
Under the Instamart-Yuma Energy partnership, the company is providing space for Yuma's battery swapping stations at its PODs, or dark stores. The first such station began operating at an Instamart POD earlier this month. Yuma Energy currently operates more than 2,000 battery swapping units.
A battery swap takes less than two minutes. This could reduce the time delivery partners covering long distances through the day need to spend waiting to charge. Having swapping stations near PODs could save up to 60 minutes a day in travel and waiting time.
Instamart has also tied up with Yulu, under which delivery partners using Yulu's electric two-wheelers are being given rental cashback incentives. The aim is to ease the initial financial burden of shifting to EVs and reduce the impact of rising petrol costs. The programme, launched in May 2026, has benefited thousands of delivery partners so far. According to the company, partners in the programme have seen their rental costs fall by up to 30 percent.
Instamart, along with Swiggy, is working with more than 50 EV partners across the country to give delivery partners easier access to electric vehicles. The tie-ups with Yulu for vehicle availability and Yuma Energy for battery swapping aim to address two major hurdles to EV adoption. Instamart's plan is to boost the use of electric mobility in last-mile delivery by addressing vehicle cost, battery availability and charging time together.
