Ola raises Rs 4 bn for Electric Mobility business
Fresh funding led by two of Ola’s earliest backers, Tiger Global and Matrix India
Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd., a company backed by Ola, a ride-hailing and mobility platform based in India, today announced that it has raised a sum of Rs. 400 crores led by several of Ola’s early investors, Tiger Global and Matrix India and others, as part of its first round of investment.
The company was initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot program in Nagpur. In 2018, Ola subsequently announced ‘Mission: Electric’ to bring 1 million Electric Vehicles on Indian roads by 2022. Ola Electric 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.
The announcement comes a day after the Indian Government approved a Rs. 10,000 crore FAME II scheme to push Electric Mobility in India which will provide subsidies for all types of electric vehicles.
“Echoing strong policy positions to support electric vehicles used for commercial activities, both by the Government of India and various state governments across the country, Ola Electric aims to provide the enabling infrastructure to enable ‘clean kilometers travelled’ at scale,” read a communiqué issued by the company today.
The new business, led by Ola executives Anand Shah and Ankit Jain, has an independent charter to develop platforms and infrastructure to make electric mobility, a reality at scale.
“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 travelled, we can jumpstart the electric vehicle revolution,” said Anand Shah, Head of Ola Electric Mobility.
Building on various pilot initiatives and evolving market dynamics, 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 to create solutions for electric vehicle operations.
“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 & CEO, Ola.
“We are excited to invest in Ola Electric Mobility, which we believe is the early front-runner in this space and well-positioned to build the ecosystem for electric mobility. As Ola’s first institutional investors, we are excited to begin this new journey with Ola Electric and partner in creating yet another impactful mobility business,” said Lee Fixel, Partner, Tiger Global Management.
“We couldn’t be more excited in repeating our successful early partnership with Ola, with our investment in Ola Electric Mobility. Ola’s vision about the role of electric mobility, especially in India for sustainable development, and the approach to making it work at scale is unique,” said Avnish Bajaj, Founder and MD, Matrix India.
