Ola and Uber have drawn up their battle lines. Ola with Tata & Jayem Neo (Tata Nano) will be battling with Uber cabs which has teamed up with Mahindra (E2O).

The Tata Nano will be manufactured by Tata and sent to Jayem automotive for fitting it with electric drive train and then handed over to Ola (a little complicated system).

The profit margin in… Taxi industry has fallen because Uber has used anti-competitive practices. Ola has followed Uber’s policies.

One thing to note is that Ratan Tata has also financed Ola cabs. At the same time Ola does business with Mahindra’s E2O and now Tata. In this battle Tata seems to have played the best bet by investing in electric bus technology. This makes good sense because one bus sold is as good as selling 25 E2O cars and the charging infrastructure required is limited (at designated bus parking areas).

While no international car maker has been able to produce a car with similar specification and price as E2O and the expected Neo they have been busy trying to defend the diesel technology in spite of being put under heavy fines.

Isn’t it how we climb a ladder? When you have to let go from one rung, after you have a hand and foot on the rung above. Unfortunately the existing car makers are not able to take their hands and foot off the lower rung.

These car makers are trying to hold on tightly to the millions of dollars of investment they made in internal combustion engines as it sinks underwater. The Titanic has sunk… let it go TATA… let it go Mahindra… They are so stretched on the ladder that these existing automobile companies are daunted by the task of investing in EV ecosystem.

This makes it easy for new entrants because they only have to solve the issue of building the EV ecosystem and do not have to worry about any investment in old technology. Even though Ather and Tork lost 1 full year they are still in much better position than any national or international companies to build the EV ecosystem.

The last quarter of Year 2017 was a very happening period with Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Assam investing in electric vehicles.