- With a fleet of 10.000 vehicles and 600 trucks in Brazil, the company already has 50 own eletric-powered vans in operation in the country;
- The initiative follows the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, but it is also a way for its couriers to reduce their costs in the medium term;
- The company also plans to expand the credit supply to micro and small entrepreneurs.
Mercado Libre, the largest e-commerce in Latin America, will start offering to finance the purchase of electric cars for its couriers in Brazil.
With a fleet of 10.000 vehicles and 600 trucks in Brazil, the company already has 50 own electric-powered vans in operation in the country. Almost the entire fleet is operated under exclusive contracts.
Now, as it recently started in Mexico, where it already finances the purchase of Renault and Mercedes vehicles, Mercado Livre wants to expand its fleet powered by electricity in Brazil, its largest market.
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The plan goes public after the Argentine-based company raised $ 1.1 billion in bonds last week, with $400 million in notes tied to good socio-environmental practices, reinforcing the growing market demand for the subject.
According to André Chaves, vice president of strategy, new business, and investor relations at the Mercado Libre, the initiative follows the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, but it is also a way for its couriers to reduce their costs in the medium term. Chaves said that it is an investment that pays itself over time.
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Expansion – In November 2020, the Free Market announced the opening of 5 new logistics centers in Brazil, totaling 8, while strengthening its structure after a rise in e-commerce in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company also plans to expand the credit supply to micro and small entrepreneurs, a business that was also boosted in 2020 because of social isolation measures, since thousands of sellers needed an online sales channel to maintain their business.
Currently, Mercado Pago, which supplies credit in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, has a portfolio of more than US $ 1 billion, reaching around 600 thousand sellers.
Translated by LABS.
