Ratan Tata invests in Ola Electric Mobility, says e-vehicle ecosystem evolving dramatically every day

Ratan Tata, chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested in ride hailing major Ola’s electric vehicle business — Ola Electric Mobility (OEM), the company said on Monday. Ola, however, did not disclose the details of the investment in its arm. This investment, which is part of OEM’s series A round of funding, is in Tata’s personal capacity, Ola said in a statement. “His investment in Ola Electric will bring his deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale,” it added. [caption id=“attachment_3151310” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] FIle image of Ratan Tata. News 18[/caption] Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies, Ola’s parent company. He had invested in ANI Technologies in July 2015. In March this year, OEM had announced raising Rs 400 crore in a funding round led by Tiger Global and Matrix India. “The electric vehicle ecosystem is evolving dramatically every day, and I believe Ola Electric will play a key role in its growth and development. I’m confident that this will be part of yet another important strategic move into this new business area," Tata said. Tata’s investment in Ola Electric is a significant endorsement of the company’s approach to developing an electric mobility ecosystem, including innovations in charging infrastructure, swapping models, and market-appropriate products. Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments. Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of Ola said Tata has been a mentor to him personally, and an inspiration in shaping Ola’s journey over the years. “I’m very excited to welcome him on board Ola Electric as an investor and a mentor…. We are privileged to have his guidance and support once again, as we work towards our goal of a million electric vehicles in India by 2021,” he added. OEM was initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot programme in Nagpur. In 2018, Ola subsequently announced ‘Mission: Electric’ to bring 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021. Ola Electric is backed by several global investors including Ola, India’s leading mobile platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies. — With PTI inputs