Ola Eyes European Market for its EV Biz

Ola is preparing to tap the European markets for its electric vehicle business. The SoftBank-backed company is planning to bring the first of its range of electric scooters to Europe in the coming months. However, the company has also appointed Julien Geffard as the director of the go-to-market strategy for its electric business in Europe. He would be operating from the company’s Amsterdam office.

Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and group CEO, Ola says, “As we gear up to bring the first of our range of electric vehicles to markets around the world, Julien’s (Geffard) expertise will be key to building our electric business across Europe. As a rapidly growing hub of EVs, Europe is a key market for us to realise our vision orealizeg the world towards sustainable mobility solutions.”

In his role at Ola, Julien would be responsible for building and nurturing Ola’s European operations for its electric business. He possesses more than 15 years of deep automotive experience across some of the world’s leading automotive companies. Before joining Ola, he served as the global commercial director and a member of the Board of Management at Peugeot Motorcycles. Geffard had a very successful stint at Bentley Motors Ltd as their head of sales and then as head of retail marketing, Europe. He has also associated with Alpine and BMW, where he was responsible for positioning the famous Mini in France as a leading luxury brand.

Commenting on his new role, “I am excited to join Ola and be a part of this incredibly talented, and diverse team that is bringing the exciting range of electric two-wheelers to our customers in Europe and around the world. Europe is a key market for us and our tech and digital expertise, coupled with the unique customer experience, will be key for us as we launch our products across Europe.”

The EV market in Europe has witnessed double-digit growth in 2020, with customers looking for differentiated products that are stylish, smart, and lightweight, and available at competitive prices. The development of EV charging infrastructure is expected to continue as governments make stronger investments to encourage sustainable mobility solutions aimed at zero vehicle emissions.

Ola’s electric scooter, which is launching soon has already won several design and innovation awards at CES and at the Automotive Brand contest, Germany. It comes with a sophisticated design and a unique banana-shaped battery that is easy to remove and charge anywhere. To cater to the global demand from customers around the world, Ola is in the advanced stages of setting up the world’s largest scooter manufacturing facility in India. Once completed, it will have the capacity to produce over 2 million scooters a year.