Ola shuts down quick commerce business Ola Dash, reorients used car business

Shared mobility major Ola said it has decided to shut down Ola Dash, its quick commerce business. The company will also be reorienting Ola cars, its used cars retailing division, which was launched last year to focus on strengthening go-to-market strategy for Ola Electric. 

In January 2022, Ola had announced the expansion plans of Ola Dash to open 500 dark stores spread across 20 cities, making it the largest dark store network in India. 

In an official note released by the company, it stated that with a clear focus, Ola has reassessed its priorities and decided to shut down the quick commerce business. Ola Cars infra, technology, and capabilities will be repurposed towards growing Ola Electric’s sales and service network.

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The company claimed its ride hailing business is delivering its highest ever gross merchandise value (GMV) month-on-month along with very strong profitability, and that Ola Electric has become India’s largest EV company within months of launch.

Ola will also be increasing the pace of investments and growth into new areas like electric cars, cell manufacturing, and financial services on the back of a strong balance sheet and renewed focus on mobility services and expanding EV capabilities.

Ola Electric, which surpassed Rs 500 crore revenue in its first two months of FY 22-23, is on track to surpass $1 billion run rate by end of this year, the company said, adding that it has plans to launch its second electric scooter before the end of this year.

In March 2022, the mobility giant reached an agreement to acquire Avail Finance, India’s first neobank that provides financial services to the blue-collared workforce and has over six million users. The company stated the acquisition is a key step in Ola’s broader push into the fintech space as it looks to build a mobility focused financial services business under Ola Financial.