India’s electric vehicles (EV) space has just received a South Korean booster shot.
Carmakers Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors today (March 19) announced that they plan to invest $300 million (Rs2,059 crore) in the EV initiative of India’s top cab-hailing company Ola. The two companies are tapping the app-based taxi space to increase sales of their EVs, as personal vehicle sales are yet to take off. Hyundai had led Rs100-crore funding round in car rental startup Revv in August last year.
Hyundai and Kia will also work with Ola to create new mobility solutions using e-cars, build India-specific EVs, and develop the infrastructure required for it, a press release said.
India’s electric vehicles (EV) space has just received a South Korean booster shot.
Carmakers Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors today (March 19) announced that they plan to invest $300 million (Rs2,059 crore) in the EV initiative of India’s top cab-hailing company Ola. The two companies are tapping the app-based taxi space to increase sales of their EVs, as personal vehicle sales are yet to take off. Hyundai had led Rs100-crore funding round in car rental startup Revv in August last year.
Hyundai and Kia will also work with Ola to create new mobility solutions using e-cars, build India-specific EVs, and develop the infrastructure required for it, a press release said.
India’s electric vehicles (EV) space has just received a South Korean booster shot.
Carmakers Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors today (March 19) announced that they plan to invest $300 million (Rs2,059 crore) in the EV initiative of India’s top cab-hailing company Ola. The two companies are tapping the app-based taxi space to increase sales of their EVs, as personal vehicle sales are yet to take off. Hyundai had led Rs100-crore funding round in car rental startup Revv in August last year.
Hyundai and Kia will also work with Ola to create new mobility solutions using e-cars, build India-specific EVs, and develop the infrastructure required for it, a press release said.
However, the programme hit a snag as drivers were left helpless in long queues at woefully few charging stations. The company subsequently changed track to focus on e-three wheelers that cost five times less than an e-car.
Partnering car manufacturers will help Ola revive its e-car ambitions as Hyundai and Kia’s in-house engineering and maintenance capabilities will help keep operating costs low.
The investment will also give the Bengaluru-based firm’s founders, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, strong leverage against its largest investor SoftBank. The Japanese investor, which also has a stake in rival Uber, had made a play for a majority stake in Ola in 2016 when it offered to invest $1 billion fresh capital in the company. Ola, however, preferred to curtail SoftBank’s influence and has since been trying to bring in fresh investors.
The fresh funding will also give Ola ammunition against rival Uber.
“This partnership will also significantly benefit driver-partners on our platform,” Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder, and CEO of Ola said.
