E-commerce giant Mercado Libre tripled EV fleet in 2023

E-commerce and fintech company Mercado Libre tripled its electric vehicle (EV) fleet in 2023 and plans to increase its fleet of EVs to 10,000 within the next five years. 

In 2023, Mercado Libre had 2,321 EVs delivered in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Each delivery vehicle represents a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared with similar diesel vehicles, the company said in its 2023 Impact Report. 

The firm's largest EV fleet is in Brazil, where it has 1,009 such vehicles, followed by México with 900, Chile 301 and Colombia 104. 

The company is also investing in low-emission or renewable-sourced fuels. As of end-2023, it had 169 vehicles fueled with natural gas and 14 vehicles using biomethane, among other fuels. 

In 2023, Mercado Libre delivered more than 22mn packages using sustainable mobility.

TRANSITION TO RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Mercado Libre’s largest distribution centers represent 20% of its operations and around 52% of its energy consumption.

The company has installed smart measuring systems that use sensors with IoT technology to understand the energy consumption at its distribution centers. It now has smart measurement sensors in over 100 of its distribution centers throughout the region. 

Mercado Libre’s objective is to shift 100% of its distribution centers operations to clean energy sources by 2035. 

In 2023, six sites in Brazil were supplied from the free energy market and at least seven from distributed generation, totaling around 63% of the e-commerce consumption in the country. In Chile, 82% of the total energy consumption of Mercado Libre’s sites comes from renewable energy, and in Mexico around 26%. 

Renewable energy powered 44% of Mercado Libre’s operations in 2023, compared with 29.8% in 2022.

In 2023 Mercado Libre inaugurated a photovoltaic system at the storage and distribution center located in the Funza Operations and Logistics Zone in Colombian capital Bogotá, consisting of nearly 1,100 solar panels. The system generates more than 550,000kWh a year, supplying more than 50% of operational energy needs.

INVESTMENTS 

During 2023, Mercado Libre’s capex was US$500mn. 

The e-commerce and fintech company increased its investments in logistics efficiency, alternative fuels and fleet technology by 288%, the company said in its Impact report.

It added that, in 2024, it will continue to invest in faster delivery, as well as technologies to improve customers' experience with logistics, as well as operations within warehouses and processing stations. 

“We will continue testing more automation and robotics as we have been doing so over the last few years”, Ariel Szarfsztejn, commerce EVP said during the firm's 4Q23 earnings call.