INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ola plans to produce kick scooters and even flying cars as part of its future mobility solutionsOla plans to produce kick scooters, e-bikes,
drones and even flying cars under its future mobility scheme to help meet the country's transport needs, the company's founder Bhavish
Agarwal said in a blogpost on Thursday.Ola, backed by Japan's Softbank Group, is building what it calls a "New Mobility" ecosystem which
will include mobility services, new energy vehicles and digital forms of auto retail, Mr Agarwal said in his post.The company's electric
unit will soon begin production of its first electric scooter at a plant in Tamil Nadu which it says is the biggest in the world
The start-up also has plans to expand into electric bikes and cars.The future of accessible and affordable transport in India is electric,
and internal combustion engines, automobiles and the related ecosystem is "a remnant of the past", Mr Agarwal said in his post, adding that
consumers have been downgraded to being just "a cog in this giant wheel"."Our EVs (electric vehicles) are smart, connected AI machines and
will leapfrog current personal vehicles that are dumb mechanical devices
They will serve diverse needs through a variety of form factors including kick scooters, e-bikes and yes even drones and flying cars," he
wrote.Mr Agarwal estimates that with EVs costing 80 per cent less to run compared with gasoline vehicles, the company's mobility push could
raise vehicle ownership in India to 40 per cent of the population from about 15 per cent at present, and also reduce air pollution.EVs
currently make up a fraction of the 23 million cars, scooters and motorcycles sold in India in a year - with electric scooters leading the
This is mainly due to the high cost of EVs compared with gasoline variants and insufficient charging infrastructure.To give the sector a
boost, India plans to give about $7.5 billion in total incentives to companies to set up battery and vehicle manufacturing, as well as to
buyers to switch to EVs.Tesla Inc, the world's biggest electric carmaker, is also gearing up to begin selling cars in India and has been
lobbying the government to reduce taxes on imported EVs.
