New Delhi: “The future of mobility is electric. Tesla started the culture years ago in the West. India will not be electrified by the West but by an Indian company. It will be different from the West. The Indian market is different. The Japanese dominated the ICE age but it is now different, and Indian companies will lead now. The market is ready and it is the company’s job to make it ready,” Bhavish Agarwal, Founder and CEO, OLA Electric, said.
Addressing the 7th ETAuto EV Conclave in New Delhi on Tuesday, he said, “We, at OLA, are making India a global hub. When we launched it was a small industry but now it has evolved. More competitors are now in the market.”
With the current technology and battery material, EVs are lower emission vehicles than the ICE vehicles. Study supports EV over ICE. “In India it is an ongoing debate as the Indian market is still evolving and the debate is important for the growth of the EV industry,” he said.
On the electric 2-wheeler market in India, Agarwal said that the petrol price will only go up but battery prices will go down and EV price also will go down with new technology. This will lead to more sales of EVs in India. “The EV market in India will grow. The current ICE market is the target of EV businesses. By 2025, all Indian 2- wheelers will be electric,” he added.
“Ola is here to accelerate the transition of India to an EV hub. Hybrid is not the future and is much costlier. We want a smooth transition.”
About the roadmap for Ola, Agarwal said, “We acquired a European company and then indigenized it and we created Ola S1. We are announcing more products in the coming days. We are moving this fast because we build the platforms that way.”
Highlighting the importance of data collection and management, he said, “Future transition to EV is not linear. Software and new energy systems are very important.”
The philosophy of Ola, he said, is that the future lies in the acceleration of technology and technology conversion and this is India’s moment in the sun. “It is our responsibility to master the tech of the future. Ola has a world-class team to achieve its goal.”
Also Read:
A user Samkit Parmar tweeted that his wife suffered an accident as her Ola scooter’s front wheel broke out of the suspension.