Since co-founding the company seven years ago, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has overseen Ola’s growth to be Uber Technologies biggest rival in India. Recently it has also expanded to overseas market. On Monday, the SoftBank Group-backed company gave a glimpse of its plans for the future: announcing a mission to introduce one million electric vehicles (EV) on Indian roads by 2021. Ola’s plans for electric vehicles dovetail the central government’s plan to increase electric vehicle sales in India by 2030.
To begin with, the company’s ‘Mission: Electric’ programme aims to induct 10,000 e-rickshaws and electric auto-rickshaws into its service across three Indian cities in the next 12 months. The company didn’t name the cities, but said it is in talks with several state governments on policy and regulation of electric three wheelers.
“Three wheelers are a vital means of transportation and a source of livelihood for millions of people every day. It also represents an immediate opportunity of improve outcomes for all stakeholders while reducing pollution across towns and cities,” Bhavish Aggarwal said in a statement. Aggarwal, 32, is among Fortune India 40 under 40 Classics list for 2018.
“Less than a year ago, we launched India’s first multi-modal electric pilot in Nagpur. After more than 4 million electric kilometres of travel and many lessons learned, we are significantly expanding our commitment to electrify mobility in India,” he added.
The deployment of 10,000 electric auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws by the end of the year will make Ola the largest operator of electric vehicles in the world, the company claims. Ola, owned by ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, said it would work with driver-partners, cities, vehicle manufacturers, and battery companies to make EV technology cost effective and viable.
Last year, the company launched a pilot project in Nagpur. Ola claims that the programme provided it with significant insights into effectively managing vehicles, batteries, and operations. The company said that it will continue to experiment with battery optimisation and charging to develop a strong business model for electric vehicles in the country.
Find the 40 under 40, 2018 list here
The annual Fortune India 40 under 40 event takes place in Bengaluru on April 29.
