Ola Electric Mobility, the e-vehicle solutions business of ride hailing major Ola, has raised Rs 400 crore in fresh funding from Matrix Partners India and Tiger Global, among other investors. Notably, this is the first independent round of investment that Ola’s electric mobility unit has raised.
The investment in the unit comes after Ola announced its plan last year to bring 1 million electric vehicles to Indian roads by 2022. Headed by Anand Shah, a former BMW executive, and Ankit Jain, who headed Ola’s connected vehicle platform, Ola Electric Mobility is currently running several pilots to deploy electric vehicles and charging solutions, including battery swapping stations, electric 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler services amongst others.
Incorporated in February 2017 to pilot the use of electric vehicles in its on-demand transportation fleet in Nagpur, the predominant role of Ola Electric Mobility was to facilitate the creation of infrastructure for shared electric mobility.
“The first problem to solve in electric mobility is charging: users need a dependable, convenient, and affordable replacement for the petrol pump. By making electric easy for commercial vehicles that deliver a disproportionate share of kilometers traveled, we can jumpstart the electric vehicle revolution,” said Anand Shah, Head of Ola Electric Mobility, in a statement.
The company is primarily focused on deploying charging and battery swapping networks focused on the commercial electric vehicle segment. Ola Electric has already partnered with several OEMs and battery manufacturers and intends to work closely with the automotive industry, said the company.
Ola’s plans to develop a network of shared electric vehicles came from a dream of Softbank CEO, Masayoshi Son, who in December 2017 said he would “gift” one million electric cars to India through Ola. “I think this will be the biggest initiative for electric vehicles in India,” he had said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, then.
“At Ola Electric, our mission is to enable sustainable mobility for everyone. India can leapfrog problems of pollution and energy security by moving to electric mobility, create millions of new jobs and economic opportunity, and lead the world,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola.
Ola Electric Mobility is also working on its own kit for the electrification of three-wheelers, but the programme has faced several delays. The company had hired Chinam Netaji Patro, from Bajaj Auto, as its senior director of EVs to head the project, but he quit the company in November last year.
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