Ola targets European market for its Electric Scooters; ropes in Julien Geffard to lead Europe operations for its Electric Business
Bengaluru, December 11, 2020: Ola, one of the world’s leading mobility players today announced the appointment of Julien Geffard as the Director of Go-To-Market Strategy for its electric business in Europe, as the company gears up to bring the first of its range of electric scooters to Europe in the coming months. Julien will be based out of the company’s Amsterdam office.
Ola’s electric scooter, which is launching soon has already won several design and innovation awards at CES and at Automotive Brand contest, Germany. It comes with sophisticated design and a unique banana shaped battery that is easy to remove and charge anywhere. To cater to the global demand from customers around the world, Ola is in advanced stages of setting up the world’s largest scooter manufacturing facility in India. Once completed, it will have the capacity to produce over 2 million scooters a year.
In his role at Ola, Julien will be responsible for building and growing Ola’s European operations for its electric business. He brings over 15 years of deep automotive experience across some of the world’s leading automotive companies. Before joining Ola, he was the Global Commercial Director and a member of the Board of Management at Peugeot Motorcycles. Julien had a very successful stint at Bentley Motors Ltd as their Head of Sales and then as Head of Retail Marketing, Europe. Julien has also worked with Alpine and BMW, where he was responsible for positioning the famous Mini in France as a leading luxury brand.
Commenting on the appointment, Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola said, “We are happy to announce the appointment of Julien to lead our European operations. As we gear up to bring the first of our range of electric vehicles to markets around the world, Julien’s expertise will be key to building our electric business across Europe. As a rapidly growing hub of EVs, Europe is a key market for us to realise our vision of moving the world towards sustainable mobility solutions.”
Speaking on his appointment, Julien Geffard said, “I am excited to join Ola and be a part of this incredibly talented, and diverse team that is bringing the exciting range of electric two-wheelers to our customers in Europe and around the world. Europe is a key market for us and our tech and digital expertise, coupled with the unique customer experience, will be key for us as we launch our products across Europe.”
The two-wheeler EV market in Europe has seen double-digit growth in 2020, with customers looking for differentiated products that are stylish, smart and lightweight, available at competitive prices. The development of EV charging infrastructure is expected to continue as governments make stronger investments to encourage sustainable mobility solutions aimed at zero vehicle emission.
About Ola:
Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest mobility companies, serving 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK including key global markets like London and Sydney. The Ola app offers mobility solutions by connecting customers to drivers and a wide range of vehicles across bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs, enabling convenience and transparency for hundreds of millions of consumers and over 2.5 million driver-partners.
Ola’s core mobility offering in India is supplemented by its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric and Ola Fleet Technologies, India’s largest fleet management business. Ola also extends its consumer offerings like micro-insurance and credit led payments through Ola Financial Services and a range of owned food brands with India’s largest network of cloud kitchens through Ola Foods. With strategic acquisitions like Ridlr, India’s largest public transportation platform and Amsterdam-based Electric two-wheeler OEM- Etergo BV, Ola is building mobility solutions for the future.