Mahindra and Mahindra is all set to compete with Ola and Uber in the shared mobility market in India with Glyd, a cab-hailing service. One thing that sets Glyd apart from its rivals is that service is powered by electric vehicles.
10 e-Veritos have been flagged off in Mumbai under the ownership of Mahindra. The tech-based emobility service is launched for some selected routes in the city like Bandra Kurla Complex and Lower Parel hubs.
Mahindra plans to expand in other Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, within a year.
The service is launched keeping office going crowd in mind. The cabs are equipped with features like web-conferencing, entertainment and music content. It is also reported to have privacy screen, air purifiers, wrap-around headrest, strain-free lighting etc.
These special services are provided by Mahindra partners Cisco, Vodafone and other service providers.
Glyd is 10% costlier than its rival Uber on average but it has additional offerings to make up for it.
The initiative is a welcome move in Indian mobility market, which is heavily dependent on cars that run on internal combustion engines (ICEs).
The move also aligns with Indian government urging users to shift to EVs. Reiterating its commitment to the Paris Agreement, the Government of India has plans to make a major shift to electric vehicles by 2030.
Anand Mahindra tweeted, “Well it’s a different service from what the existing players provide. We think there’s room for many differentiated offerings in the ride-sharing space”.
However, the electric road is laden with challenges. Indian roads are not well equipped for EVs yet. The country lacks fully developed charging infrastructure.
Bengaluru-based cab hailing giant Ola which had launched its electric vehicle project in Nagpur in 2017 had failed within nine months of its pilot.