In a clear expansionist move, Indian ride-hailing startup and fast-rising EV manufacturer Ola plans to build a £100m ($134.06m) electric vehicle research and development (R&D) facility in the United Kingdom. The news comes as a boost to the UK automotive industry which has had a mixed bag of fortunes in recent times.
Ola is a rapidly-expanding tech firm with electric vehicle manufacturing interests. It already has a few e-scooters under its belt and recently unveiled its concept car design in India. Ola’s investment in the new R&D plant is to subsequently yield electric vehicles wholly designed by the firm.
Ola Electric, days back raised $200m in funding at a reported $5b valuation from Japanese tech investor, Softbank. It is also reportedly planning a stock market float to raise as much as $2bn.
Ola is a leading ride-hailing app, with the company saying it is the third-largest in the world. Ola launched its taxi app operations in the United Kingdom in 2018. It is operational in several UK cities including London, Birmingham, and Cardiff. The new facility will be sited in Coventry in the West Midlands, the center of the UK automotive industry. It will create up to 200 jobs in design and engineering, with focus also beamed on research on EV battery technology.
Ola said the new UK facility will collaborate closely with the headquarters, although little detail was provided on the manufacturing capacity of the Coventry facility.
The £100m ($134.06m) investment seems to be a vote of confidence in the UK automotive industry as it continues to rebound after years of underperformance. This has led to a recent surge in investment in the sector. London’s trade issues with the EU also saw some of the big players holding back to get clarity in the market. The UK EV market holds some promise as EVs still only accounted for about 12% of UK car sales in 2021.
According to the company, the new UK plant, Ola Futurefoundry will enable the company to tap into the automotive design and engineering talent in the UK to create the next generation of electric vehicles. The plan remains to continue to produce affordable electric vehicles in the UK. The company hopes to create a world-class design and R&D team with global sensibilities.
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(source)
