Zomato Continues Its Experiments, Unveils All-Electric ‘Large Order Fleet’

Continuing  its series of experiments, foodtech major Zomato on Tuesday (April 16) unveiled an all-electric ‘large order fleet’ to deliver large orders for up to 50 people in one go.

Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal took to social media platform X to announce Zomato’s Large Order Fleet.

“Today, we are excited to introduce India’s first large order fleet, designed to handle all your large (group/party/event) orders with ease. This is an all electric fleet, designed specifically to serve orders for a gathering of upto 50 people,” Goyal said. 

Explaining the rationale behind the new launch, the CEO said that such large orders were earlier fulfilled by multiple regular fleet delivery partners. However, the experience for the customers wasn’t what Zomato aspires for.

“These new vehicles should solve most of the problems our customers face while placing large orders on Zomato,” he said.

However, Goyal added that the new fleet is still a “work in progress”. The company, he said, is in the process of adding enhancements to the delivery vehicles, like cooling compartments and hot boxes. 

The new launch is part of Zomato’s experiments and initiatives to provide new features and improve customer experience. Earlier this month, it was reported that the company is piloting last-mile delivery to office goers inside corporate parks.

Last month, Zomato also launched a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ with green uniform and a new mode on its app called ‘Pure Veg Mode’ to cater to customers with 100% vegetarian dietary preference. 

However, the foodtech startup’s move faced online backlash over the segregation of delivery partners with a separate uniform. Acting swiftly, the company reversed its decision to introduce green uniforms for the new fleet. 

Zomato is also dealing with tax troubles in recent times. It was recently served a tax demand notice to pay INR 92 Cr service tax. Prior to it, it also got a GST notice of INR 23.26 Cr for FY19 from Karnataka tax authorities on April 1. 

Despite this, the company’s shares continue to be buoyant and surged to an all-time high of INR 199.75 earlier this month. This upswing came on the back of the company reporting three consecutive profitable quarters. Its net profit stood at INR 138 Cr in the third quarter of FY24.

Shares of Zomato ended today’s trading session 0.7% lower at INR 186.75 on the BSE.

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