South African EVs launch new movable storefront for African telcos

South Africa-based electric vehicle (EV) company MellowVans has partnered with Itemate Solutions to launch a new transportable store solution for African telcos.

Neil du Preez, CEO at MellowVans, the first South African automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to achieve European and British homologation, says the vehicles are developed specifically for the African landscape in terms of their ruggedness and low-maintenance requirements.

“Our MellowVans have become a common sight in South Africa’s urban centres where brands take advantage of their low operating cost, easy maintenance, and extensive technology and data to enhance their last-mile delivery. Following a successful proof-of-concept with Telkom, we are now rolling out an adapted version of our vehicles tailored to the needs of African telcos.”

The new offering provides telcos with the MellowVans EVs paired to a custom point-of-sale platform developed by Itemate. This creates a transportable storefront from where agents can provide customer service, sign up new customers, complete RICA processes, sell airtime and complete SIM card registrations.

According to Robert van Breukelen, CEO at Itemate Solutions, the EVs fulfil a growing need among telcos to enhance their customer service capabilities.

“Countries across the continent are introducing more stringent regulations around customer registration, directly impacting telcos’ ability to drive rapid subscriber growth. The partnership with MellowVans provides telcos with a cost-effective, climate-friendly and an attractive solution that enables them to reach customers where they are, instead of expecting customers to travel to brick-and-mortar stores.”

MellowVans are South African developed and manufactured electric delivery vehicles that provide low-cost and emission-free last-mile transport for e-commerce distribution. The road-legal three-wheel vehicles are manufactured at the company’s Stellenbosch factory, using 70% local content. The vehicles are popular among South African brands who deploy them as part of their delivery fleet, including takealot, Spar, Woolworths and DHL.

According to du Preez, the vehicles offer the lowest cost per kilometer of any last-mile solution. “Our vehicles have a range of 130km per charge, which at current Eskom rates translate to a 15c per kilometer cost. In addition, our technology platform provides real-time insights into vehicle performance, driver behaviour, and other metrics, allowing operators greater control and visibility over their fleet.”

Van Breukelen adds that the branded MellowVans create an attractive storefront for telcos that enhances the customer experience. “Telcos can send their own agents out into the field using cost-effective and environmentally-friendly transport, limiting their reliance on third-party field agents and thereby enhancing customer security. The integration with our custom point-of-sale also provides telcos with full visibility over sales, registration and customer data, easing compliance efforts.”

According to du Preez, a pilot project with Telkom that was conducted in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State has provided good insight into how telcos in other parts of the continent could utilise the solution. “We are currently in talks with telcos in several other African countries and will be focused on our production capacity to ensure we can meet the growing demand for MellowVans in other parts of the continent.”

brian@theenergyreview.com