After exiting China, Uber makes its way in India ready to compete with India's ANI Technologies Pvt's Ola. Its promotional campaign launched last month is an indication of its willingness to leap on overseas markets.
India has become Uber's largest market expanding to 28 cities in India with recorded 5.5 million riders per week in August. It aims to recruit a million drivers by 2018 to bring its name on top of the market. Uber Tech is ousting Ola in the market with this strategy.
"India is a strategic priority," said Amit Jain, a former McKinsey & Co. consultant who now runs Uber's operation in the country. "India accounts for 12 percent of all rides on our platform globally and there remains tremendous potential," he added.
Opportunity for Innovations
The presence of poor internet pushes Uber to make innovations. Uber now has engineering and support teams in Bangalore and Delhi investing more in technology aiming for a wider coverage of their services. Its services include allowing users to book a ride without downloading its app. It also has an emergency help button in the app that was introduced after a rape case in New Delhi in 2014. South Africa's safety feature was also introduced by Uber. In the absence of credit cards, cash payments are acceptable for Uber's service. This was first introduced by Ola later on copied by Uber.
The Clash Begins
Last year, Uber filed a case against Ola for creating fake accounts and false bookings. However, Ola denied such allegations. Uber also made the same agreement with the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki. Customers started booking rides through text messaging with Ola while Uber started its app-less service. Investing in India is not just about ousting Ola from its territory but an opportunity to make innovations according to Uber.
