Bhavish Aggarwal to disrupt EV market by going ahead with mass producing

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of OLA is aiming to make the Ola FutureFactory in Tamil Nadu the largest electric two-wheeler plant in the world and he said , Tesla's entry into India will be a "massive positive" for the EV ecosystem.

Sources revels, every Friday, Bhavish Aggarwal, spends quiet a good amount of time at a site , rings in the weekend at a 500-acre site in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, amidst rocky surfaces and sounds of the ground being dug up by JCB trucks by supervising the construction work and conducting reviews to ensure his ambitious to come true.

The Ola FutureFactory in Krishnagiri the largest electric two-wheeler plant in the world, with an annual capacity of 10 million units. The 10 production lines at full capacity are expected to crank out 1 scooter every 2 seconds at full capacity. It is investing Rs 2,400 crore in the plant and will create 10,000 jobs.

He also spoke openly on his plans to build EVs across categories such as two-wheelers, four-wheelers, why the scale is crucial for success, and his take on Tesla's entry into India. Expected to finish phase 1 in June this year, it will have a capacity of two million units a year. We will have 15 percent of the world's manufacturing capacity. Everyone is working day and night to make it happen.

We believe we have an opportunity to put India on the world map. That is the reason why we are building a mega factory. By responding on the question on how we will find demand- this will happen if we build the right products. Our first product will be a couple of generations ahead of anything built in the market. With products, cost, and scale, you can enable mass adoption," he said.

In terms of per-capita ownership of two-wheelers per 1,000 people, India's numbers hover around 160 compared to Vietnam which has 600. So, India can get to 500-600, Aggarwal said.

Bhavesh revels, we are building our own battery packs. We are building our own design, we're designing engineering and manufacturing our own battery packs for designing, engineering, and manufacturing our own motors. And we'll also make all software. So it's a much more vertically integrated technology," Aggarwal said.

Ola Electric had acquired Amsterdam-based electric manufacturer Etergo in May last year, with plans to launch two-wheelers globally. It has been running pilots to deploy electric vehicles (EVs) and charging solutions across cities.

By responding to the sales and distribution network, as part of its distribution, Ola is also planning to build a D2C (direct-to-consumer) channel, on top of its cab-hailing app.

When asked about the competitive environment and the entry of Tesla, Aggarwal said, "When an iconic company like Tesla is looking to enter India, it will be a massive positive for the whole ecosystem. It will catalyse it, from demand to suppliers to other automotive companies. It is all the better for companies like us and also for consumers in the end."