Can India’s largest electric vehicle maker short circuit Ola and Uber’s smooth ride?
After years of a virtual duopoly, the Indian app-based ride-hailing market is witnessing a disruption of sorts. So what exactly does last month’s launch of Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) Glyd mean for incumbents Ola and Uber?
Not much really initially, since Glyd is exclusively focusing on electric vehicles (EVs), say experts. “The EV space, first, is tough to crack at this stage when the infrastructure is not mature,” said Ruchi Shukla, a Mumbai-based independent mobility expert.
After years of a virtual duopoly, the Indian app-based ride-hailing market is witnessing a disruption of sorts. So what exactly does last month’s launch of Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) Glyd mean for incumbents Ola and Uber?
Not much really initially, since Glyd is exclusively focusing on electric vehicles (EVs), say experts. “The EV space, first, is tough to crack at this stage when the infrastructure is not mature,” said Ruchi Shukla, a Mumbai-based independent mobility expert.
After years of a virtual duopoly, the Indian app-based ride-hailing market is witnessing a disruption of sorts. So what exactly does last month’s launch of Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) Glyd mean for incumbents Ola and Uber?
Not much really initially, since Glyd is exclusively focusing on electric vehicles (EVs), say experts. “The EV space, first, is tough to crack at this stage when the infrastructure is not mature,” said Ruchi Shukla, a Mumbai-based independent mobility expert.
Indeed, the cars-to-software conglomerate is taking an asset-light approach: Glyd won’t own the cars. Its fleet will consist of M&M vehicles owned by third-party taxi providers and drivers. For instance, its first fleet of 10, launched in Mumbai on Feb. 22 last month, is owned by Meru Cabs.
Apart from its EV expertise, M&M’s deep pockets could help, too.
“Uber and Ola are investor-driven companies and any vertical that isn’t giving viable returns doesn’t make sense for them,” said Amit Kaushik, country head of automotive consultancy Urban Science. “M&M, on the other hand, can re-deploy investments if the initiative fails to take off. The company isn’t putting in a lot of money into it anyway.”
Source: qz
