Amid incidents of India’s Ola Electric scooters breaking down, the company has set up even higher ambitions for itself. Ola Electric Mobility, a manufacturer of electric scooters in the country, is planning to come up with its first four-wheeler vehicle in the second half of 2024, Chief Financial Officer G.R. Arun Kumar.
Reportedly, the manufacturer and ride-hailing service is concentrating on advanced design phases and profiting from the sharing of some technologies utilised in its two-wheeler products. Last year, Ola Electric also announced its plans to open a global R&D centre in the UK, followed by its raise of $200 million in a funding round in 2022.
RBSA Advisors predicts that by 2030, India’s electric-vehicle market will be worth more than $150 billion, and Ola aims to compete against Tesla, Hyundai Motor, and Tata Group.
“Software, safety systems, electronics, cells, the drive train — a lot of it is common,” Kumar said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week forum. “We think we’re 30%-40% there.”
Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of Ola, stated last year that the company planned to keep the cost of its first car under $50,000 by producing batteries and lithium-ion cells internally. In India’s electric car market, which consulting firm RBSA Advisors predicts will be worth more than $150B by 2030, Ola intends to compete with companies like Tesla Inc., Hyundai Motor Co., and local rivals like Tata Group.
By adding local plants, Kumar claimed that Ola is also making headway towards its goal of eventually producing 100 gigawatt hours of battery cells.
“We should get to about 10 gigawatt hours in 18 to 24 months and to 20 gigawatt hours in 36 months,” he said.
According to Kumar, Ola might sell lithium-ion cells to other parties in addition to using them internally for energy storage, grid balancing, and vehicle applications.
“We’d be very open to selling outside,” he said. “It’s all contingent on how the demand side shapes up.”
Ola Electric, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, has already made waves in the Indian industry. Its electric vehicles have best-in-class characteristics and are poised to carve out a market niche in India. Furthermore, Ola is preparing to open a Future Factory in Tamil Nadu.
