Multinational car manufacturing corporation Mahindra & Mahindra has entered into the app-based car aggregator business with its tech-based e-mobility service, Glyd.
The company flagged off the first batch of 10 electric Mahindra Veritos on February 25 for some select routes in Mumbai.
Mahindra’s Glyd
Glyd is the Mahindra’s app-based taxi service launched in Mumbai. The underlying feature of Glyd is that cab bookings are made electric.
Mahindra with the launch of the app-based car sharing business is directly competing with major cab aggregators like Ola and Uber. Glyd’s business model is similar to that of Ola and Uber where users can book their cabs through an app.
The company does not own any cars, and the whole fleet will be by service providers or cab drivers just like Ola and Uber. It is reported that Meru Cabs own the fleet of 10-eVeritos.
Glyd’s charges can be premium due to the provision of only electric cars and expected to be around 10% more than Uber or Ola.
Features of Glyd
- The cabs under Mahindra is equipped with an air purifier, privacy screen, custom designed armrests, bolstered seats, etc.
- It collaborated with Vodafone-Idea service for in-car WiFi, and Cisco Systems to develop the app and other services.
Initial service is available on routes such as Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Lower Parel hubs in Mumbai. The company plans to expand the services in other corporate cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. It is expected that a fleet size of 200-400 electric cars can ride around BKC and about 800-1600 cars at Lower Parel.
With the Glyd app, Mahindra strives to provide customized transportation services to extend the better in-commute experience to office goers. The service will provide access to video-conferencing and offer advanced connected car features like curated entertainment and music content.
In 2017, cab sharing giant Ola had launched its electric vehicle service in Nagpur which failed during its pilot state, like within 9 months, in Nagpur. Hope, the initiative by Mahindra’s Glyd takes a good start and provide better services to the office commuters.
