Uber CEO: Rapido Now Bigger Rival Than Ola in India

According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the business believes that Rapido, a domestic operator, is a more formidable opponent than Ola in the Indian ride-hailing market.

In a preview of his complete interview on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast People by WTF, Khosrowshahi stated, “Ola used to be our main competition, but now the tougher competition in India is Rapido.”

His remarks hint at a shift in the country’s competitive $13-billion ride-hailing market once dominated by Ola. It comes just days after the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the country’s top consumer watchdog, slapped a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Rapido for alleged misleading and unfair trade practices.

In more than 100 Indian cities, the platform offers ride-hailing services. Targeting tier two and tier three cities, where there is a high demand for reasonably priced mobility services, Rapido has sought to attract more capital. According to observers, Rapido’s emphasis on two- and three-wheeler mobility has also contributed to its popularity among budget-conscious buyers as India resumed its normalcy following the pandemic.

But regulatory scrutiny has also resulted from its quick expansion.

The CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, had taken suo motu cognisance of Rapido’s two ad campaigns — ‘Guaranteed Auto’ and ‘AUTO IN 5 MIN OR GET ₹ 50’, and found they were “misleading” and asked the ride-hailing service to discontinue them immediately.

These guidelines were produced by CCPA in accordance with many provisions of the 2019 Consumer Protection Act. It should be mentioned that Rapido provides its services in more than 120 cities, and the contested advertising was broadcast in several regional languages throughout the nation for at least 548 days, or over 1.5 years. Therefore, the CCPA finds it necessary to impose a penalty to safeguard the interests of consumers,” the order read.

Ola, on the other side, has moved its emphasis from mobility to artificial intelligence (AI), geospatial technology, battery manufacture, and EV manufacturing. Its parent business, Ola Consumer, reported a drop in sales to Rs 1,906 crore in FY24 from Rs 2,135 crore in FY23, resulting in a reduction in its market share.

Consolidated revenue for parent firm ANI Technologies also decreased somewhat, from Rs 2,277 crore to Rs 2,203 crore. However, the company also narrowed its consolidated net loss to Rs 328.5 crore from Rs 772.2 crore the previous year in FY24 due to lower employee benefit expenses.