Ola is planning to increase its workforce in the coming 6 months. The new hires will be recruited in the EV business segment as it is the market where Ola is now changing its focus. The electric vehicle scenario is only expected to grow more in the upcoming years and some reports suggest that by 2025, it would be INR 50,000 crore market.
Along with two-wheelers and four-wheelers, there is a significant shift of technology in case of three-wheelers as well with some reports claiming that about 40% of the three-wheelers would be lithium-ion battery-powered by the next 4-5 years. Thus Ola Electric is also joining this bandwagon of building electric vehicles and would also launch a new electric scooter very soon. Ola has already acquired Etergo BV of Netherlands this year and this would mean that they will have an extra edge in terms of the technologies. Ola has announced an electric scooter for the New Zealand market as the Govt. of New Zealand plans to add about 64,000 new electric vehicles by 2021.
As per sources, the three-wheeler will have a windshield with wipers, circular headlights, roof rails to accommodate solar panels. These solar panels will be used to charge the battery on the go and improve the range. The rear seat will be adequate for three passengers. The rickshaw will be equipped with a maintenance-free lithium-ion battery pack thus enabling the lowest service cost and improving the driving range. Ola is targeting about 10,000 vehicles to be added in this service.
Ola had announced recently that it has signed an MoU with the state of Tamil Nadu to invest 2,400 crores in setting up a factory in the state. The manufacturing unit will have an annual capacity of producing 2 million units making it the largest scooter manufacturing facility in the world. Currently, Ola is serving across more than 250 cities in India, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. All together Ola claims to have over 2.5 million driver-partners under its network and looks to add more in the near future.