About Ola Electric
Ola, founded in December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, has evolved from a ride-hailing service to a significant player in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Here's a year-by-year overview of its journey:
2010
December: Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati establish Ola with the mission to build mobility for a billion people.
2011
January: Ola Cabs is launched as a taxi aggregation service, initially allowing users to book rides via phone calls.
2012
June: Ola introduces its mobile application, enabling real-time cab booking.
2015
March: Ola acquires rival TaxiForSure for ₹1,237 crore (approximately $200 million).
June: TaxiForSure services are integrated into the Ola app.
August: Ola became an app-only platform and operates in more than 100 cities.
2017
December: Ola acquires Foodpanda India, marking its entry into the food delivery segment.
2018
April: Ola acquires Ridlr, a public transport ticketing app, expanding its services beyond ride-hailing.
August: Ola invests in scooter rental startup Vogo, signaling interest in micro-mobility solutions.
2019
Ola prepares for its London launch, with over 10,000 drivers applying to join the platform.
2020
February: Ola launches its ride-hailing services in London with over 25,000 registered drivers.
May: Ola Electric acquires Amsterdam-based electric scooter manufacturer Etergo, marking its entry into the electric vehicle market.
2021
December: Ola Electric begins deliveries of its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters in Bengaluru and Chennai.
2022
March: Ola Electric invests in Israel-based battery technology company StoreDot to incorporate fast-charging battery technologies.
April: Following a fire incident, Ola Electric recalls 1,441 scooters as a precautionary measure.
July: Ola Electric announces the construction of a Battery Innovation Center in Bangalore, aiming to be Asia's largest cell R&D facility with a $500 million investment.
2023
October: Ola Electric raises $140 million in equity and $240 million in debt to establish a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility, the Ola Gigafactory, in Tamil Nadu.
2024
April: Ola exits international markets, including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, to focus on its core operations in India.
May: Ola migrates its technology workloads from Microsoft Azure to its proprietary cloud platform, Krutrim.
July: Ola introduces Ola Maps, an in-house mapping tool, replacing Google Maps in its applications.
August: Bhavish Aggarwal rebrands Ola Cabs as Ola Consumer, reflecting the company's diversified services.
September: Ola Electric launches its first e-motorcycle series, 'Roadster,' starting at ₹74,999.
Ola has proven to be innovative and flexible throughout its path, moving from a ride-hailing service to a major force in the electric vehicle sector and continuously growing its offerings to satisfy changing consumer needs.