Ola and Siemens Come Together to Set Up EV Manufacturing Facility in Tamil Nadu

Published On: 21 January 2021
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In December 2020, Ola signed a deal worth Rs 2400-crore with the Tamil Nadu Government to set up its first manufacturing facility

Ola continues to make news in the Indian market after announcing its foray into the EV segment, last year. It has now tied up with Siemens to build an advanced EV manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Ola is one of the leaders in the ride-hailing services in the Indian market. It plans to move into the fast-growing EV segment in the country as well as globally. With the consumers rising preference for a sustainable mode of transport, Ola sees an opportunity in the EV space. Earlier, in December 2020, the India-based ride-hailing platform signed a deal worth Rs 2400-crore with the Tamil Nadu Government to set up its first production facility. The Indian company claims that the setting up of the manufacturing unit would lead to the creation of almost 10,000 jobs.

As per the press release, the upcoming EV hub will be the largest scooter manufacturing unit in the world. It has the potential to churn out 2 million units of scooters annually. Ola plans to use the production hub for the domestic market as well for exports to the international markets like Latin America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

The upcoming factory will be built on Industry 4.0 principles. It will be the most advanced manufacturing facility in India. The factory will have almost 5000 robots deployed across various functions. Under the partnership, Ola will have access to Siemens’ integrated Digital Twin design and manufacturing solutions. This will help them in digitalizing as well as validating product and production ahead of the commencement of actual operations.

The production hub will be technologically advanced with Ola’s proprietary AI Engine and tech stack solutions. It will seamlessly be integrated into the manufacturing process with continuous self-learning and optimizing every aspect. This will give unprecedented control, automation, and quality to the entire operation thanks to Ola’s implementation of cyber-physical and advanced IoE systems.

The entire material handling at the upcoming factory will be fully automated to deliver maximum efficiency, right from the raw materials to material movement inside the factory, to storage, to the finished scooter rolling off the production lines and being loaded onto trucks.

In May 2020, Ola brought Netherland-based electric scooter Etergo BV, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) based out of Amsterdam. Established in 2014, Etergo is well-known for its scooter model named “AppScooter”. As it gears up to make its presence felt in the Indian market, there are talks of the company raising $300 million dollars for the EV project. With the funds at disposal, Ola plans to challenge Hero Electric, Ather Energy and Okinawa Scooters in the Indian EV segment.