Uber aims to unseat Ola in US$10 bil India ride-hailing market

BANGALORE (Oct 10): Uber Technologies Inc unveiled its first-ever brand campaign in India last month with a video showing a tense Uber driver navigating gridlocked streets as he rushes to drop off a little girl to her school on exam day. In a Bollywood-style twist at the end, the girl turns back at the school gate and calls out to him, “Have a nice day, Papa.”

The promotion is one of many signs the world’s most valuable startup, after exiting China, is gearing up for an epic battle in India against homegrown rival ANI Technologies Pvt’s Ola. Uber is stepping up investments in the country and aiming to recruit a million drivers by 2018. The goal is clear: unseat Ola at the top of the market.

The San Francisco-based company is closing the gap. Uber says it has expanded to 28 cities in India and handled about 5.5 million rides per week in August, more than triple the amount at the start of the year. India has become its largest market after the US, in part because it agreed to sell its China business to Didi Chuxing.

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