Focusing on smart mobility solutions, Hyundai and Kia to invest nearly 2000 Cr in Ola

NewsBharati    19-Mar-2019
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Mumbai, March 19: Hyundai Motor Group and Kia Motors Corporation announced a strategic partnership today to invest 300 million dollars (about Rs 2,000 crore) in ride-hailing platform Ola for providing smart mobility solutions.


 

It will be Hyundai's and Kia's biggest combined investment to date.

The agreement will see the three companies extensively collaborate on developing unique fleet and mobility solutions, build India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure, as well as nurture opportunities for driver partners with customised vehicles on the Ola platform.

As part of the collaboration, the companies have agreed to co-create solutions to operate and manage fleet vehicles, expanding Hyundai operations from automobile manufacturing and sales to total fleet solutions.

The partnership will offer Ola drivers various financial services, including lease and instalment payments, besides maintenance and repair services.

Hyundai, Kia and Ola have also agreed to coordinate efforts to develop cars and specifications that reflect the needs of the ride-hailing market (both users and drivers). Data accumulated during service operation will allow the companies to make constant vehicle improvements to better meet local needs and specifications.

"India is the centrepiece of Hyundai's strategy to gain leadership in the global mobile market and our partnership with Ola will certainly accelerate our efforts to transform into a smart mobility solutions provider," said Euisun Chung, the company's Executive Vice Chairman.

"Hyundai will proactively respond to market changes and persistently innovate to deliver greater value to our customers."

Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO of Ola said: "We will bring to market a new generation of mobility solutions as we constantly expand our range of offerings for our consumers. This partnership will also significantly benefit driver-partners on our platform, as we collaborate with Hyundai to build vehicles and solutions that enable sustainable earnings for millions of them in the time to come."

Ola aims to create over two million livelihood opportunities in the mobility ecosystem by 2022. The partnership will help accelerate micro-entrepreneurship in India's growing pool of aspiring driver-partners. Ola already hosts over 1.3 million partners on its platform. (AND