Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola. (Illustration: Binay Sinha)
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola, hit back at Uber global CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, saying that Uber is far behind in India compared to his ride-sharing business. He said this is reflected in revenues from the segment. Aggarwal further said that Uber has very little activity on the ground in India.
Aggarwal said, “Ola is going nowhere; it is already doubling down and deep into India, and Mr Uber (Khosrowshahi) is behind anyway. If you see his ride-sharing revenues, our revenues were 3x of his in FY23. They are coming from behind and just talking it up, but very little activity on the ground”.
Aggarwal was responding to comments made by the Uber Inc chief, Dara Khosrowshahi, in an interview with a national daily. On a four-day trip to India, the Uber chief said that while Ola focuses on other areas (like its electric vehicle business), Uber loves the ride-sharing business. He also clarified that he is not in this business to be in second place and is here to win.
Aggarwal’s response came when the company was going for an Rs 5,500 crore initial IPO- the first in the EV space in the country. Aggarwal, who has already submitted his DHRP to Sebi, is trying to get the IPO going before the general elections. Currently, Aggarwal is on a global roadshow and has covered Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the US already.
According to Entrcakr, Uber’s ride-hailing business accounted for 25 per cent of its total operating revenues in FY23 and hit Rs 679 crore. However, its total consolidated revenues were Rs 2,666 crore. In contrast, Ola’s ride-sharing revenue, as declared by the company for FY23, was at Rs 1,987 crore.
First Published: Feb 26 2024 | 10:37 AM IST
