Micro has done in three weeks what Ola has done in three years: Raghuvesh Sarup

Interview with Chief Marketing Officer, Ola

Taxi-hailing company Ola is deepening its focus as global rival Uber turns up the heat in India. Ola’s chief marketing officer and head of categories Raghuvesh Sarup tells Alnoor Peermohamed & Bibhu Ranjan Mishra how the company’s more affordable service Ola Micro is its most successful so far. Edited excerpts:

What is your plan for this financial year? One of your rival says they’ll beat you in 30 days.

I’ll separate loose talk from this. We have data from several third parties sources, and while the don’t agree on the number, they all do agree that Ola has over 75 per cent market share. India has its own nuances, it’s very hyperlocal and I don’t think anyone knows that better than Ola, because we’re on the streets, on the sidewalks, on the curbs and on the corners. There are unique needs that India has which we do listen to with our sharp hearing. And it is some of these Indian needs that has caused us to create some of these very well defined categories.

Read more from our special coverage on "OLA"

• Ola Micro spearheads companys fight against Uber
• Micro alone will be bigger than Uber within a month, says Ola
• Ola to add 5,000 CNG cabs in Delhi, NCR this month
• Ola ups CNG drive, to infuse Rs 200 crore for cabs in Delhi-NCR
• Competition Appellate Tribunal rejects Fast Tracks plea in Ola case

The second thing about India and we all love about it is that the innovations are specifically made for India.So in Prime, we offer water. It’s a very Indian custom, because when someone comes to your house you offer them water. So we’re very aware of the cultures and cater to the needs of this country. Lastly, India is all about execution. As much as this loose talk and claims you’ll hear from people who don’t really know this market is they think they can do well here, but execution speaks for itself and this tenfold growth that we have achieved shows that we more very quickly.

What sort of uptake do you see for Prime? It’s obviously more premium.

There’s a need from certain people on certain occasions. I’m not saying there’s a Mini user and a Prime user. You could use Mini on your way to work and Prime when you’re going out with your family. There are people who are more discerning and there are also moments when they are also more discerning, and Prime caters to both of them.

At this time Prime is available in seven of the larger cities, the biggest of which are Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. These are the markets where you’ll see Prime one minute away as we like to say. We’ve added 20,000 cars and we’re not able to cater to the demand in these three cities. We didn’t plan this category actually, but suddenly we realised there’s a certain type of car and people need Wi-Fi and want more comfort. We’ve basically moved our entire sedan category to Prime.
 

You also have a new category Ola Micro...

It’s just Rs 6 per km. There was a need for air-conditioned car comfort at more affordable prices. These compact cars will cater to a segment that perhaps does not use cars at this moment. It will be the most preferred AC car, the most available and most trusted in the coming months.

Micro has done in three weeks what Ola has done in three years. In three weeks we’ve put up a category that is nearly 50 per cent of Uber’s bookings per day. We will be larger than their entire brand within a month, and that’s just Micro.
How is Micro differentiated from Mini?

Micro is targeted at people who’re looking to travel short distances to get out of the heat, or the rain, and they’ll prefer a car more than an auto or a bus. Mini on the other hand is a more accustomed cab ride for Indian customers.
Is it sustainable, Rs 6 per km?

One differentiator is the distance. Auto is the shortest distance, Micro is obviously a little longer, because you’re in a car, and Mini would be even longer.

Then there’s the difference in the size of the vehicles, as we go from Auto to Mini it will grow proportionately. And third are the rates themselves. In Auto, you can look at it as a per km charge, but for shorter rides you’ll look at the minimum fare.

Many of the Auto rides that Ola offers are within the minimum of what Ola Auto offers. Whereas in Micro that figure is slightly higher and the fare for Mini is in line with a regular cab.