Mahindra and Ola have partnered with the government of India to build an electric car ecosystem in Nagpur. The multi-modal electric vehicle project at the Nagpur Airport Complex was inaugurated today by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Shipping, Nitin Gadkari.
According to a statement from Ola, this project will bring vehicles across different segments, including e-buses, e-cabs, e-rickshaws and e-autos together on a single platform, the Ola app. This will enable citizens of Nagpur to book these vehicles for their transportation needs.
This pilot project will commence with a 200-strong fleet, including 100 of Mahindra's new e2o Plus vehicles. The rest of the fleet will consist of vehicles sources from other OEMs including Tata Motors, Kinetic, BYD, TVS amongst others, said Ola.
Ola's electric charging station situated within the airport complex was also launched today. Ola said that it has already invested upward of Rs 50 cr towards EVs and charging infrastructure, starting with 50+ charging points across 4 strategic locations in the city of Nagpur.
“We have waived off VAT, road tax, and registration for all electric vehicles in the state, and we look forward to building Maharashtra as a model state for others to emulate in the future,” said Fadnavis.
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“There is an urgent need to re-think and revisit transport infrastructure and fuel dependency, not just in India, but globally. Large scale adoption of electric vehicles can bring the monumental change that we urgently need, and in this endeavour, we launched the 100% EV nation by 2030 mission,” said Gadkari.
Check out Nagpur's brand new charging station inaugurated today. #OlaGoesElectric pic.twitter.com/Sfx4d4WDmB
— Ola (@Olacabs) May 26, 2017
Ola said that electric vehicles will play a major role in reducing urban pollution plaguing several Indian cities and resulting in health hazards. “With increased penetration of EVs and eventual 100% transition, the country and its citizens stand to benefit tremendously.”
