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A new consumer survey made public on Monday showed an overwhelming desire from consumers to see accelerated EV transition from e-commerce to delivery companies in response to air pollution and climate change.

The survey conducted among 9,048 consumers across six major cities -- Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai -- shows that 78 per cent of all respondents attributed last mile delivery vehicles as one of the reasons for rising air pollution in the cities, with 67 per cent of all respondents supporting a switch to EV vehicles by the delivery companies to reduce air pollution and mitigate climate change.

The consumer survey was commissioned by the Sustainable Mobility Network and conducted by CMSR Consultants.

"E-commerce, food and grocery and hyperlocal deliveries are a rapidly growing segment in India," said Gajendra Rai, Director of CMSR Consultants.

"Tier 1 Cities comprise a core market for most of these delivery companies, so our survey across the six Indian cities is highly indicative of overall consumer perceptions of the companies and their current use of delivery vehicles.

"We have also tried to ensure that the maximum respondents (94 per cent) are from the 18-45 years age group, spread across the city who again represent the core user base for the companies," he said.

The survey, primarily conducted offline (89 per cent) through on-ground interviews, also finds that an overwhelming majority of respondents (93 per cent) believe proactive action and transition by one company can encourage other companies and create rapid change in the sector.

The respondents also stressed the need for a socially just transition of their delivery fleets by companies with 38 per cent stressing that companies should either lease or purchase electric vehicles for their delivery partners and workers, 31 per cent respondents saying companies should provide financial incentives to delivery partners for buying electric vehicles and another 19 per cent stating that support should be provided to the delivery partners to retrofit their existing delivery vehicles.

The survey also finds that people in the cities of Mumbai (66 per cent), Pune (78 per cent) and Delhi (78 per cent) have said they would prioritize purchases from companies which make commitments that are in line with state government targets to rapidly decarbonize their fleets.

Maharashtra sets a 25 per cent target for electric vehicles among e-commerce, delivery and logistics service providers in the state by 2025, while Delhi's draft Motor Vehicles Aggregator Scheme sets EV transition targets for e-commerce and last mile delivery aggregators along with a 100 per cent EV adoption target by April 1, 2030.