Ola and Mahindra join hands to promote electric mobility

In partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra, Ola kicked off a pilot project in Nagpur, launching India’s first multi-modal electric vehicle project. Ola has also announced an electric fleet of 200 vehicles, including taxis, buses, e-rickshaws and autos.

Mahindra manufactured 100 e2o electric taxis for this project, while Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions has supplied 100 e-rickshaws, Kinetic Safar. The rest will be sourced from Tata Motors, BYD and TVS.

Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola said, “India has the need as well as the potential to set a global example of electric adoption to power its mobility requirements. We believe that electric mobility in a multi-modal format will be a key to realise our mission of building mobility for billions.”

Ola claims it has invested around Rs 50 crores to build its electric vehicle fleet and set up 53 charging points at four different locations across Nagpur, which enables drivers to charge all kinds of vehicles under one single roof. The company will also invest in training and educating driver partners on maintenance and use of in-car technology.

Pawan Goenka, MD of Mahindra & Mahindra said, "True to the spirit of ‘Make-in-India’, we shall lead this change in India along with the government. This pilot will pave the wave for wider adoption of electric vehicles."

This project was inaugurated by Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Shipping, Government of India.

Gadkari said, “The future belongs to vehicles powered by electricity, solar power, ethanol, liquefied natural gas, and biofuel, and compressed natural gas. India imports crude oil worth more than Rs4 trillion which effectively means we are exporting our money. Import-substituting, pollution-free, cost-effective, and indigenous means of mass public transport is the way forward to bring down India’s dependence on imported crude.”

Mahindra already has 2,700 e-vehicles running across India which clock around 14 million km per day.

The pilot project is expected to contribute to the establishment of an electric vehicle ecosystem in the country and also provide the necessary boost to the accompanying charging infrastructure.