Ola To Add Around 1000 Nano Electric To Its Fleet Following Rs 40 Crore Fund From Tata Motors

Ola Electric has been making a constant push to introduce electric vehicles in its fleet in India. Another such effort might see the Uber competitor bringing in the electric version of the world¡¯s cheapest production car - the Tata Nano. And if the reports are to be believed, the project will be financed by none other than Tata Motors itself.

As per a new report by Financial Express, Ola Electric, Ola¡¯s electric mobility arm, has entered into a new deal with Tata Motors Finance, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, wherein the latter will be providing Rs 40 crore debt fund to Ola Electric for the purchase of electric version of Nano.

To recall, Tata Motors had started supplying empty body shells of the Tata Nano to Jayem Automotives back in 2017. Jayem was then supposed to fit electric drivetrain into these shells, to create the electric versions of the Nano. Ola¡¯s plans to procure these EVs date back to the same time, only less in number then. The previous aim was to get 400 of such units for the Ola Electric fleet.

Ola Electric Charging Station (Image: BCCL)

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With the latest funding though, this number is easily expected to rise to 1000 or 1300 in total, if an analyst quoted by the report is to be believed. Interestingly, the new and increased number of units is being predicted even after a considerable hike in the price of the electric Nano is expected.

Why the price hike?

The new electric Nano, currently being deemed as Jayem ¡°Neo¡±, will reportedly come with advanced features, including features like bluetooth, air-conditioning, power windows, EV stack and more. Such features, which mostly come as standards across electric vehicles, are bound to increase the price of the vehicle.

As for the specifications of the car, the electric Nano will come with a 48V electric motor and a battery that claims a total range of 200 km on a single charge.

Ola Electric Charging Station (Image: BCCL)

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Still affordable

The price hike would not be much of a problem for Ola though, thanks to the government¡¯s subsidies on the electric car under its FAME II scheme. The reworked Nano has been granted a total subsidy of Rs 1.24 lakh, having been put in the same category as the Mahindra e20 and Tata Tigor EV.

The final price, therefore, will help Ola Electric to procure much more number of units of these vehicles than planned initially.

Ola has been going full throttle on expanding its electric arm¡¯s business. Recently the company managed to procure an undisclosed amount of funding from none other than Ratan Tata. The company also announced its collaboration with Hyundai to bring in Hyundai electric cars in its fleet soon.