Mahindra & Mahindra takes on Ola and Uber, enters ride-sharing business with Glyd

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra has entered the ride-sharing business with its electric car hailing service Glyd. Media reports said the company flagged off its first batch of 10 e-Veritos in Mumbai recently.

In a press statement, Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said Glyd is a flagship premium e-mobility solution that aims at changing the experience for daily commuters.

Speaking about the company's plan to provide different e-mobility solutions, Pawan said the move aims to bring in smart, sustainable and experiential daily commute. He added, the company is also planning to launch different solutions across different cities.

Glyd, which is focussed on daily office commuters, has features like web-conferencing, music content and curated entertainment provided by select partners. To provide these services, Mahindra & Mahindra has partnered with Cisco, Vodafone and a few others in Mumbai.

Also read: Why companies like Ola, Zoomcar and ZipGo are bullish on electric vehicles

Interestingly, Mahindra & Mahindra had tied up with Ola to launch EVs for the Bengaluru-based ride hailing unicorn. Last year, Ola had announced Mission: Electric, committing to place over 10,000 e-rickshaws and electric auto-rickshaws on the road in the next 12 months. 

The company also increased its commitment to the Nagpur pilot and further expanding its EV fleet to three other cities in India. However, the team did not comment on which three cities it is looking at. The company aims to put over one million electric vehicles on the road by 2021, said a release.

The homegrown unicorn will also work closely with different city corporations, driver partners, vehicle manufacturers, and battery companies to make sustainable technologies cost-effective and viable for daily commute.

Mahindra & Mahindra has partnered with ZoomCar, and has also invested in the car-rental company. Bengaluru-based online bus aggregator ZipGo announced its Rs 300 crore fund raise, and said it would use the funds to transition its fleet to electric vehicles. 

Also read: Mahindra makes an offer to Ola they cannot refuse

India is the fifth-largest auto market in the world, and crude oil imports make up the single largest component of the country’s import bill at nearly $85 billion this year, according to data from the Oil Ministry's website. Reports suggest India imports close to 82 percent of all its oil needs.

The government had earlier said in a report that switching to electric vehicles is estimated to bring down its crude oil import bill by a whopping $60 billion, and reduce emissions by 37 percent.

Apart from Mahindra & Mahindra, other Indian players in the electric vehicle manufacturing space include two-wheeler manufacturers Ather Energy, Ultraviolette, and Ampere. Mumbai-based AutoNxt is looking to prototype an electric tractor, while Hero MotoCorp’s Avon has been a popular choice among many.  

Car manufacturers like Hyundai and Maruti are also set to launch a range of electric vehicles soon.