Ola Plans to Introduce E-Scooter by January 2021; Will be Sold in India as well as Europe

• The initial batches of vehicles will come from the manufacturing facility in the Netherland.
• The company to offer the e-scooter at a competitive price against the current petrol scooters.
• Meanwhile, its competitor Uber has announced that it will deploy 500 e-rickshaws in Greater Kolkata.

Ridesharing unicorn Ola is planning its entry into electric scooter manufacturing and may hit the market with its first vehicle in January next year, sources close to the matter said.

Ola's electric scooter, initially manufactured at a facility in the Netherlands, will be sold simultaneously in India as well as Europe, the sources added.

This move of the SoftBank-backed company will pitch against players like Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy, Hero Electric, and others that currently make electric two-wheelers in the country.

The company is looking at tapping into a 20 million units-two wheeler market in India by offering the e-scooter at a competitive price against the current petrol scooters. Ola is looking at sales of a million e-scooters in the first year, one of the sources said.

The source added that while the initial batches of vehicles will come from the manufacturing facility in the Netherlands, Ola Electric is looking at setting up a facility in India to meet the local demand more efficiently and participate in the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

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Ola is also said to be in talks with various state governments to set up India’s largest e-scooter manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of about 2 million units.

In May this year, Ola Electric announced the acquisition of Amsterdam-based Etergo BV for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition of Etergo bolstered the company's engineering and design capabilities.

Established in 2014, Etergo has developed an all-electric ‘AppScooter’ that uses swappable high energy density batteries to deliver a range of up to 240 km.

Meanwhile, its competitor Uber has announced that it will deploy 500 e-rickshaws, the first 3-wheeler micro-mobility product on its platform, in Greater Kolkata. Riders from Howrah, Barasat, Madhyamgram, Rajarhat, and Salt Lake will be able to book the e-rickshaws on the Uber app from Thursday, a statement said.

About Ola Cabs: Ola Cabs is an Indian ridesharing company offering services that include vehicles for hire and food delivery. The company is based in Bangalore and founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in 2010. The company operates in more than 250 cities in India, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom (UK).

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