Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun (R) and Ola Chief Executive Bhavish Aggarwal shake hands after discussing ways to cooperate in mobility services in India at Hyundai Motor’s headquarters building in Yangjae, southern Seoul, late last month. (image: Hyundai Motor)
SEOUL, Mar. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., will invest a combined 338.4 billion won (US$300 million) in India’s biggest ride-hailing firm, Ola, in their single biggest investment ever, Hyundai said Tuesday.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will invest $240 million and $60 million, respectively, in Ola to supply vehicles not only to the Indian company but also to advance the local car-rental and other fleet markets, Hyundai said in a statement.
Through partnership with Ola, Hyundai and Kia aim to provide electric vehicles to the ride-hailing firm and promote their “smart mobility solutions” in the local automotive markets, it said.
In India, demand for ride-hailing services is rapidly growing, with the number of car-hailing calls having jumped to 3.5 million in 2018 from 1 million in 2015, the statement said.
The investment comes after the carmakers invested $275 million in Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing app, Grab, last year.
Hyundai supplied 20 Kona electric vehicles to Grab in January and plans to provide 200 more electric cars for Grab’s car-hailing services by the end of this year.
(Yonhap)
