<article>In their biggest combined investment to date, South Korean automakers <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Hyundai Motor Co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hyundai Motor Co</a>. and <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Kia Motors Corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kia Motors Corp</a> on Tuesday announced that they are investing $300 million in Indian ride-hailing company Ola.</article>

In their biggest combined investment to date, South Korean automakers <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Hyundai Motor Co" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hyundai Motor Co</a>. and <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Kia Motors Corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kia Motors Corp</a> on Tuesday announced that they are investing $300 million in Indian ride-hailing company Ola.
The duo last together invested $250 million in Southeast Asian ride-hailing major Grab in November 2018.
The investment is expected to be part of<a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Ola" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Ola&#8217;s</a> ongoing Series J round, which is estimated at $1 billion, and would give Ola much-needed firepower to battle it out with nearest rival Uber.
According to the agreement, the three companies will collaborate on developing fleet and mobility solutions, building India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure, as well as nurturing opportunities and offerings for aspiring driver partners with customised vehicles on the Ola platform, the companies said in a joint statement.
The deal also marks Hyundai&#8217;s foray into fleet vehicles as it expands operations from automobile manufacturing and sales to total fleet solutions.
&#8220;India is the centerpiece of Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy to gain leadership in the global mobility market and our partnership with Ola will certainly accelerate our efforts to transform into a Smart Mobility Solutions Provider,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice-chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.
As part of the strategic collaboration, Ola drivers will be offered various financial services, including lease and installment payments, the statement added.
&#8220;Together, we will bring to market a new generation of mobility solutions, as we constantly expand our range of offerings for our consumers,&#8221; said Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Agarwal. &#8220;This partnership will also significantly benefit driver-partners on our platform, as we collaborate with Hyundai to build vehicles and solutions that enable sustainable earnings for millions of them, in the time to come,&#8221; he added.
Hyundai, Kia and Ola have also agreed to coordinate efforts to develop cars and specifications that reflect the needs of the ride hailing market for both users and drivers. Data accumulated during service operation will allow the companies to make constant vehicle improvements to better meet local needs and specifications.
Since its launch in 2011, Ola has raised about $3.8 billion in primary capital from a number of local and global investors, according to Crunchbase.
Last month, Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal had invested Rs 650 crore ($92 million) in Ola in his personal capacity. The capital infusion came close on the heels of a $74-million funding round from existing investor Steadview Capital, which valued the company at roughly $5.7 billion.
In October 2017, Ola had raised $1.1 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of $3.5-4 billion from China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd and existing investor SoftBank.
Ola also recently spun out its electric mobility unit, Ola Electric Mobility, which raised Rs400 crore from its early backers Tiger Global, Matrix India, and others last week. The new infusion is expected to help the company in its goal of bringing one million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2022.
Meanwhile, Hyundai is also beefing up its presence in the electric vehicles space in India. The firm is reportedly investing over $1 billion in Sriperumbudur facility near Chennai to manufacture electric cars.
Other automakers, too, are pouring in money into the ride-hailing industry.
In August last year, Japan&#8217;s Toyota Motor Corp said it is investing $500 million in Uber. Toyota had also agreed to invest $1 billion in Grab in the biggest investment by a car maker into a ride-hailing firm in June last year. Last month, German car giants BMW and Daimler announced a €1 billion investment in a joint ride-hailing and car-sharing business to compete with mobility services provided by Uber and other tech firms.
Meanwhile, Hyundai first invested in Grab in January last year and participated in the firm&#8217;s following rounds as it seeks to expand into the region to reduce reliance on China. In December 2016, Grab also received a strategic, undisclosed investment from Japanese automaker Honda.
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The deal also marks Hyundai's foray into fleet vehicles as it expands operations from automobile manufacturing and sales to total fleet solutions.

Korean automakers Hyundai, Kia Motors invest $300m in India's Ola

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Korean automakers Hyundai, Kia Motors invest $300m in India's Ola

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