Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing arm of ANI Technologies, has charted plans to electrify its three-wheeler and four-wheeler services and expand the EV two-wheeler services for which the firm will also evaluate local partnerships for the same, the firm's newly appointed CEO Hemant Bakshi said.
"It is part of our ambition to go completely electric across all the transportation services we have. This is a priority for us," Bakshi said at a media briefing on January 25. Bakshi was the executive vice president of the marketplace and chairman of Unilever, Indonesia.
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, and MD and Chairman of Ola clarified that the firm is open to talks with other local partners for purchasing EVs for the business. Currently, the firm procures its EV two-wheelers from Ola Electric.
"Ola Electric has sold over 400,000 EVs to the market and out of it 8,000 is sold to Ola in an arm's length transaction. Ola Mobility is the only fleet we have sold... We are open to talks and evaluation with other partnerships but Ola Electric is currently the biggest in the market in terms of manufacturing capabilities," Aggarwal said.
The clarity from Aggarwal came after media reports said that Ola Electric sold more than 8,000 scooters to the cab service firm Ola.
The firm will now focus on three main business segments namely, Ola Financial Services, Ola Logistics and Ola Mobility, Bakshi said. Last year, the firm decided to shut down its fleet services as well as food delivery business.
Ola's Mobility business in FY23 reported a revenue of Rs 2,135 crore up nearly 58 percent, and for the first time, the firm reported a positive EBITDA of Rs 250 crore, after reporting Rs 66 crore of EBITDA loss in FY22.
"While our revenue continued to grow at a strong clip of 58 percent, we became EBITDA positive in the India mobility business. One of the few consumer internet businesses in India to be profitable at this level," Bakshi said.
The firm is planning to take its e-bike business nationally by the end of this year and expects to complete 0.5 Bn rides in 2024.
Ola's direct rival Uber said at the World Economic Forum 2024 that the firm is looking to electrify its fleet and will look for local partners in India for the transition.
Uber reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 2,666 crore in the financial year ended March of 2023 (FY23) on the back of a jump in its revenue from rides and supported services in India.
ANI Technologies, the parent entity of Ola Fleet, Ola Financial Services and Ola Stores, reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 2,799 crore, up nearly 42 percent year-on-year (YoY) despite a reduction in revenue from Ola Fleet and Ola Financial Service in FY23.
ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd also managed to cut down its consolidated net loss by 49.2 percent to Rs 772.2 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2023, from Rs 1,522.3 crore in FY22.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
