Ride In Style: Armed With $500 Million War-Chest, Ola To Let You Rent BMW, Mercedes For A Subscription

Bengaluru-based ride-hailing services company Ola is all set to introduce subscription based self-driving services for its customers. The company is in talks with luxury car makers including BMW, Audi and Mercedes for the same, reports Mint.

With an investment of upto $500 million, the company is all set to launch the services in multiple cities in coming weeks under Ola Fleet Technologies. Ola has been running these services as a small scale project in Bangalore where it customers self-drive few of these luxury cars.

Subscription-based car rental services are popular in the United States, and Ola sees a huge potential in bringing it to India. The company already allows customers to books luxury car rides through its Lux Category.

Subscription-based vehicle service is where a customer pays a recurring fee for the right to use one or more automotive vehicles. These subscriptions offer insurance and maintenance as part of the fee and a few other allow the subscriber to switch between different vehicles during their subscription period. This model is seen as an alternative to owning or leasing a vehicle.

The company is backed by Softbank and Tencent Solutions and a few other investors. It recently saw an investment of $300 million from Hyundai and Kia motors and a ₹650 crore funding from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal.