Indian ride-hailing app Ola reveals plans to take on Uber in Britain
The firm has licenses to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester and hopes to be operating nationwide by the end of 2018.
Tuesday 7 August 2018 15:35, UK
Indian ride-hailing app Ola聽has announced plans to launch its services in Britain, as it seeks to challenge Uber's dominance.聽
The company, co-founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in 2011, has obtained licenses to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester.
It hopes to roll out its service nationwide by the end of the year.
Britain will be Ola's second international market after it started operations in Australia in February.
Ola claims to handle one billion rides each year globally, with more than one million drivers and 125 million customers in over 110 cities.
Mr Aggarwal said the UK is "one of the world's most evolved transportation markets".
"The UK is a fantastic place to do business and we look forward to providing a responsible, compelling, new service that can help the country meet its ever demanding mobility needs," he said.
Ola's app will allow riders to use both private hire vehicles and black cabs.
It has been in a fierce battle with Uber to win a greater share of the Indian market, which is estimated to be worth about $10bn (£7.7bn).
Both companies are backed by Japanese investor Softback, which has suggested they combine their Indian operations to slash the money they are burning through to gain market share.