Ola’s GMV surpasses pre-Covid levels: CEO

“India is moving forward again! Our Ola Cabs GMV crossed the pre-covid level last week. Recovery from the second wave is three times faster. Clearly, India is moving ahead!” tweeted Agarwal. GMV is Gross Merchandise Value.

“For the first time in FY11, 10 million people used Ola. Welcome friends! As people move, they want to feel safe, so they are switching to personal or shared mobility instead of public transport. Many are switching to auto, taking our auto business to around 150% of pre-Covid levels,” said Agarwal.

The Ola chief said its cabs are now safe as a significant proportion of driver-partners have been vaccinated. “We are ensuring that Ola rides are safe. Three lakh+ drivers have been vaccinated on Ola, and we will be 100% vaccinated soon! We are adding more driver-partners, entering new cities and building new products to better meet all of your mobility needs.” Agarwal tweeted.

The news of Ola Cab’s recovery comes at a time when the company is preparing for a public listing on Indian exchanges next year, which could raise $1.5-2 billion.

The company is in talks with bankers and has shortlisted Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citigroup to help with the listing process.

Agarwal’s other venture, Ola Electric, is betting big on electric vehicles (EVs) and recently launched the much-awaited S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters.

With scooters delivered from this month, Ola Electric is looking to invest $2 billion over the next five years to build an electric two-wheeler charging network with its partners.

Since the onset of COVID-19, mobility has faced its toughest year ever, as individuals continue to reduce their reliance on public transport for fear of contracting the virus.

In May, management consultant RedSeer said the overall mobility and ride-hailing sector recovered 69% in terms of volumes. The segment saw 78 million rides in May, a sequential increase from 71 million in January.

Across various segments of ride-hailing, Auto showed the highest recovery of 89% in May with 25 million rides. Despite this, cabs continued to dominate the market, clocking 40 million rides and nearly 51% market share in March 2021, data from RedSeer showed.