The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a $300 million investment in ride hailing service Ola and its subsidiary Ola Electric Mobility, by automakers Hyundai and Kia. As part of the deal, the two automakers will acquire minority equity stake in Ola and Ola Electric. https://twitter.com/CCI_India/status/1189513726719754241 Ola had announced the investment in March, but the deal had reportedly hit a roadblock with the CCI, as it was concerned about the competitive impact of car companies investing in ride-hailing apps. Ola had filed for the CCI's approval for the investment. The CCI asked the company about the competition landscape, but the application became invalid due to slow progress. In September, the company filed a fresh application, albeit with one change – of the total investment of $300 million, $250 million was meant for ANI Technology and $50 million for its subsidiary Ola Electric Mobility. According to this application, Ola Electric is looking to operate in the charging infrastructure services market. It is worth noting that according to a Mint report, Hyundai is planning to launch affordable electric cars in India by 2021, and the company is looking at using Ola as a test bed for its products. Hyundai has already launched an electric car in India called the Kona. Ola Electric raised $242 million from SoftBank in its Series B funding round in June. Ola is also in advanced talks with Microsoft to raise about $150-200 million, as per news agency PTI.
