While most of us look for smaller economy vehicles for our day to day travels, there are times that you want to rent a luxury vehicle for your travels. However, currently there is dearth of such luxury offerings in India. Ola, a leading app based cab rental company, wants to tap this opportunity, and have launched a new category on their app called ‘Ola Lux’.
Ola Lux category will offer luxury sedans like Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Toyota Fortuner, Honda Accord amongst other high-end sedans and SUVs, on-demand on the exiting Ola mobile app.
Ola Lux is available across South Mumbai to begin with, and will be introduced to other parts of the city soon. As far as the pricing goes, Ola Lux is available for booking at a minimum fare of Rs. 200 and just Rs. 19 per/km. A ride time charge of Rs. 2 per minute is also applicable to all the Ola Lux rides.
All existing features like driver details being displayed upfront, SOS buttons, AutoConnect Wifi, live tracking and seamless payment using Ola Money will continue to be available on Ola Lux.
Raghuvesh Sarup, Head of Categories and Chief Marketing Officer at Ola said, “Lux is a brand new category from Ola that brings unmatched style and comfort for those who demand it. Ola has always focused on providing superior in-cab experience, and choices to suit the need, usage occasion and mood of its customers. Ola Lux is an offering in that direction, at the high end.
Our Take on Ola Lux
Luxury Vehicle rentals definitely have a demand in Indian market, however, this opportunity exists only in some areas – An offering like Ola Lux will not be feasible in Tier-II or Tier-III cities as the demand will be minimal in these areas. On the other hand, upscale neighborhoods in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore may see much higher demand.
Interestingly, Ola’s biggest competitor Uber had similar offering called ‘UberBLACK’ when the first launched, however, earlier this year they shut down this service due to lack of demand as majority of riders are looking for cost-effective transportation. UberBLACK seems to be currently available only in South Mumbai, where the demand for such vehicles seems to be high.
Success of Ola Lux will depend on the demand and the areas where they launch!
[…] and attract new ones from Uber, its biggest competitor. From offering luxury rides through Ola Lux to free WiFi in its premium sedans, Ola knows how to keep its customers […]