Jeff Bezos rode around in an electric Amazon rickshaw to show off the company's new fleet in India
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that the company is deploying a fleet of electric delivery rickshaws in India.
- In a promotional video, he hopped into one of the rickshaws for a spin.
- Bezos' trip to India has been overshadowed by protesters and an antitrust investigation.
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been on a highly publicized tour of India, and his latest stunt involves hopping inside an Amazon-branded electric rickshaw.
Bezos uploaded a video to his Instagram and Twitter accounts on Monday which showed him riding around in an electric rickshaw, announcing a new fleet of Amazon e-rickshaws.
The video ends with the hashtag #ClimatePledge, although Bezos does not mention in either the video or the caption how many rickshaws will be deployed.
An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider Amazon India plans to deploy 10,000 electric vehicles in its fleet by 2025, but did not say how many of these vehicles are currently in service. "We piloted these EVs in 2019 and are now scaling up rapidly. This number is dynamic and fast-changing because of the scale-up," the spokesperson said.
Bezos has been on a charm offensive in India recently, announcing last week that Amazon will invest $1 billion towards "digitizing small and medium businesses" in the country, and predicting the India-US alliance will be "the most important alliance" of this century.
India is a significant battleground for Amazon. The company faces stiff competition from Walmart-owned rival Flipkart, which held a 31.9% market share as of 2018 compared to Amazon's 31.2% according to Forrester.
Amazon is also facing increased regulatory scrutiny in India.
Bezos' arrival was greeted by thousands of protesting small business owners brandishing placards saying "Jeff Bezos go back!" Organized by a trade union, the protesters claimed that Amazon destroys small retailers by undercutting them on price. Their protests have been heard by the Indian government, which has launched an inquiry into both Amazon and Flipkart.
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