Eternal Doubles EV Delivery Partners To Over 1 Lakh In FY26

Market snapshot: Eternal Limited has doubled its electric vehicle (EV) delivery fleet to over 1 lakh partners in FY26, driven by a massive gig workforce of 3 million people delivering orders for Zomato and Blinkit. This rapid green transition is aimed at cost-efficiency and insulating logistics margins from fuel cost pressures.

Data Snapshot

• Eternal doubled its electric vehicle (EV) delivery fleet to over 1 lakh partners in FY26
• A total of 3 million people are engaged as delivery partners across Zomato and Blinkit platforms
• Total EV-based food deliveries rose 50% year-on-year in FY26 to 132.3 million orders, representing 13.5% of total food delivery volume

What's Changed

• Eternal's EV delivery fleet has reached over 1 lakh partners in FY26 compared to an active EV fleet of ~13,500 in March 2023.
• Consolidated revenue from operations for Q1 FY27 rose to ₹20,211 crore from ₹7,167 crore in Q1 FY26.
• Q1 FY27 consolidated net profit surged to ₹92 crore, up from ₹25 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Key Takeaways

• Eternal has scaled its EV delivery partner network to over 1 lakh in FY26, highlighting the group's accelerated green logistics transition.
• The platform now leverages a vast delivery workforce of 3 million people across its food delivery (Zomato) and quick commerce (Blinkit) networks.
• In FY26, total EV-based food deliveries grew 50% year-on-year to 132.3 million orders, representing 13.5% of total orders.

SAHI Perspective

Eternal's strategic shift toward electric vehicles is not merely an environmental objective but a critical cost-efficiency driver. Operating a last-mile delivery fleet of over 1 lakh EVs among its 3 million total delivery partners allows the company to significantly insulate itself from fuel price volatility. This transition directly supports the operating leverage of its core B2C segments—food delivery (Zomato) and quick commerce (Blinkit). Given that last-mile delivery accounts for a substantial portion of overall operational costs, the transition to lower-maintenance, highly efficient EVs enhances long-term profitability. This operational optimization is visible in Eternal's recent financial results, such as the surge in consolidated net profit to ₹92 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹25 crore in Q1 FY26.

Market Implications

The rapid expansion of Eternal’s EV fleet is expected to drive accelerated demand within the commercial electric two-wheeler market. Major EV suppliers and fleet management providers like Zypp Electric stand to benefit as strategic partners. Over the medium term, this transition lowers the marginal cost per delivery, enhancing the unit economics of Blinkit and Zomato. This transition will likely force competitors to matching efficiency, accelerating green logistics across India's hyperlocal landscape.

Trading Signals

Market Bias: Bullish

The doubling of Eternal's EV fleet to over 1 lakh partners, alongside a robust 3 million gig delivery force, highlights strong operational scaling and cost optimization. This structural transition supports expanding margins, as demonstrated by Q1 FY27 net profit growing over three-fold to ₹92 crore.

Overweight: E-commerce, Quick Commerce, Electric Vehicles, Logistics Tech

Trigger Factors:

• Expansion of EV charging and battery-swapping infrastructure in metro areas.
• Performance of Blinkit's net order value (NOV) and dark store profitability in upcoming quarterly results.
• Changes in regulatory guidelines or welfare schemes regarding gig workers (such as the e-Shram portal integration).

Time Horizon: Medium-term (3–12 months)

Industry Context

India's hyperlocal delivery and quick commerce sectors are witnessing an unprecedented green transition, driven by corporate commitments to achieve 100% EV fleets by 2030 (such as Zomato's EV100 commitment). The segment is characterized by intense competition between market leaders Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart, alongside rapid expansion by players like Zepto. Gig workers are playing an increasingly central role, with the Indian government initiating welfare registrations on portals like e-Shram to cover this fast-growing workforce, which currently stands at nearly 1 crore people nationwide.

Key Risks to Watch

• Potential government mandates on minimum wages, social security benefits, or mandatory insurance for the 3 million delivery partners could elevate operational costs.
• Dependence on third-party EV manufacturers and leasing partners like Zypp Electric poses supply chain risks if production fails to scale.
• Inadequate battery swapping and charging facilities across Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities could restrict daily delivery efficiency and rider onboarding.

Recent Developments

Eternal’s Zomato and Blinkit platforms, along with Meesho's Valmo, facilitated income tax return (ITR) filing for over 2 lakh delivery partners, unlocking ₹35.6 crore in combined refunds in September 2026. Additionally, in February 2026, Eternal expanded its strategic collaboration with OpenAI to deploy advanced AI models and assistants across Zomato, Blinkit, and District apps for operational efficiency.

Closing Insight

Eternal's scale and aggressive EV fleet ramp-up create an operational moat, driving lower unit delivery costs and supporting consistent margin expansion across Zomato and Blinkit.

High Performance Trading with SAHI.