After Australia and UK launch, Ola drives to New Zealand

Bengaluru-based ride-hailing platform Ola today announced it had launched operations in New Zealand. The cab services will be available in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, it said in a press release.

Ola claims to have over 125 million users in India, Australia, and the UK. It also claims to serve as many as a billion rides annually.

Starting today, Ola is inviting private vehicle owners in New Zealand to learn more about registering with Ola by visiting drive.olacabs.com to see benefits of a market at an introductory commission rate of 9 percent; more details about the wider launch of Ola will be announced soon, it said.

The Bengaluru-based unicorn has appointed Brian Dewil as Country Manager for New Zealand. Brian had previously founded UrbanSherpa, which disrupted the local courier market, and was the Co-Founder and Director of Horizon Robotics, where he implemented robotic technologies to re-imagine how physical goods are transported and delivered. 

Today, Ola operates in seven major cities across Australia, and claims to have close to 50,000 registered drivers who have completed millions of rides. Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Ola said in a press release that the company sees a real opportunity in New Zealand to provide a fair alternative in the ride-sharing space for both customers and drivers. 

“We invested in understanding the New Zealand customer and devised the right strategy to meet their transport needs. We are the rideshare brand that cares, and are looking forward to creating high-quality transport experiences for both passengers and drivers in New Zealand,” Bhavish was quoted as saying in the release. 

“Ola’s arrival will create a compelling experience that puts the quality of rides first. I’m excited to build the local team and business in New Zealand,” Brian Dewil, Country Manager NZ at Ola, said in a press statement. 

Late last year, Ola had raised $1.2 billion in funding from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, and since the beginning of this year, has been pushing deeper into international expansion.

Interesting, Uber, Ola's biggest rival in India, already has a strong presence in Australia. Uber started its operations in Australia in 2015, and a Deloitte study points out that in 12 months, the cab aggregator had facilitated close to 10 million rides. Of these, 1.2 million rides were in August alone in the cities of Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane.