Explained: Why Ola is building a mega two-wheeler factory in Tamil Nadu

Cab aggregator Ola has announced that it has commenced construction of the world’s largest two-wheeler mega-factory on a 500-acre site in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu.

This ‘Ola FutureFactory’ will be operational by 2022.

Sharing our vision of the Ola Futurefactory! With 10M units/yr, it’ll be the largest 2W factory in the world, 15% of world’s capacity! With 3000+ robots, it’ll be the most advanced & with 100 acres of forest, carbon negative operations, it‘ll be the most sustainable. @OlaElectric pic.twitter.com/1iSjFCMJIS

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) March 8, 2021

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How big is the Ola factory?

The factory has a total area of 500 acre with a megablock structure spread over 43 acres.

According to a statement from Ola, at full capacity, the facility will roll out one scooter every two seconds resulting in an annual production of 10 million vehicles. This will be 20 per cent of the current global two-wheeler capacity.

According to the company, the mega-factory will have an initial capacity of 2 million units a year in first phase and will serve as the company’s global manufacturing hub for its range of electric-powered scooters and two-wheelers across India and international markets including Europe, UK, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

The factory has a total area of 500 acre with a megablock stucture spread over 43 acres.

Through this entire process, Ola is maintaining that it will ensure conservation of the green belt in the area by preserving and transplanting the trees on site. Ola plans to have a large forest area within the site and reuse the excavated soil and rocks within the factory.

How long will the factory take to be set up?

Ola announced a Rs 2,400-crore MoU with the Tamil Nadu government in December 2020 and the land acquisition was completed this January itself. An Ola statement said the plan was to “operationalise its factory in the next few months” and roughly “10 million man-hours have been planned” to complete the project. The company is optimistic that the first phase will be operational “in the coming months”.

How many jobs will the project create?

Ola is expected to generate 10,000 jobs through this factory. “The factory will incorporate Industry 4.0 principles, and will be powered by Ola’s own proprietary AI Engine and tech stack that will be deeply integrated into all its systems,” Ola said.

Ola is maintaining that it will ensure conservation of the green belt in the area by preserving and transplanting the trees on site.

The factory is also expected to be the country’s most automated, with about 5,000 robots and automated guided vehicles in use once it is operational to its full capacity. “The company has already brought on board global partners and suppliers as it works towards getting its factory, billed to be the world’s largest scooter factory, operational in the coming months,” the company added.

What will Ola make in the factory?

Ola claims it is close to launching the first in its range of electric scooters in the coming months. The scooter will have a “removable battery, high performance and range” and has already won awards for its design, the company claimed.