Why dealers are the natural collection point
Electric three-wheelers are widely used by owner-drivers and small fleets, particularly in India, where they carry passengers and goods across cities and towns. Their packs are relatively small, typically low-voltage systems of a few kilowatt-hours up to around a dozen, and owners tend to return to dealers or service centres for maintenance, repairs and battery replacement. That makes the dealer the most practical place to intercept batteries at the end of their life.
Aggregating returns at dealer level turns many small, scattered batteries into regular consolidated collections that a logistics provider can serve economically. It also gives manufacturers visibility of retired batteries across their network, which directly supports the collection and recycling obligations placed on producers by the Battery Waste Management Rules 2022, and provides evidence that those obligations have been met. Dealers become an extension of the producer's compliance system.
Setting up a dealer take-back point
Each participating dealer needs a designated storage area that is dry, ventilated, away from heat and separated from flammable materials such as oils and packaging. Packs should be labelled with their serial number, date of return and observed condition, and kept at low state of charge wherever practical. Damaged or swollen units need their own quarantine space so that they never sit alongside healthy stock waiting for collection.
A simple paper form or mobile app can capture pack details at the moment of return, and that record then feeds directly into collection planning. Dealer staff should receive basic safety training covering handling, storage, recognising warning signs and what to do if a battery begins to overheat. Short, practical training delivered on site usually works better than long classroom sessions for busy workshop teams.
- Designated, ventilated storage area
- Serial number and condition label for each pack
- Quarantine space for damaged units
- Basic safety training for dealer staff
- Simple digital record of every return
Collection and settlement
Collections can run on a scheduled route across all dealers in a region, with frequency set by return volumes and storage limits at each site. Consolidated loads reduce cost per pack and allow approved packaging to be delivered in advance of each pickup. Every collection is matched against the dealer's own records, and pack serial numbers are carried through grading and processing to the final certificate.
Settlement can flow to the manufacturer, the dealer or the vehicle owner, depending on how the programme is designed. Transparent, predictable pricing encourages owners to return packs through dealers rather than selling them to informal buyers who may dismantle them unsafely. That improves worker and public safety and increases the amount of material that is actually recovered and reported. Formal channels also give owners confidence that their battery was handled responsibly.