Ola to use ABB robots and automation solutions for mega e-scooter factory

Ola Electric has chosen Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB as one of its key partners for robotics and automation solutions for its Rs 2,400 crore mega-factory in Tamil Nadu, India which will roll out the Ola electric scooter. The company says its factory is expected to be ready and operational in the coming months.

Earlier this year, Ola had said the mega factory will generate almost 10,000 jobs and with an initial capacity of 2 million units a year, it will be the largest scooter manufacturing facility in the world. It will serve as Ola’s global manufacturing hub catering to its customers in India as well as key markets across Europe, UK, Latin America and ANZ.

Ola will utilise ABB’s automation solutions in its factory’s key manufacturing process lines, including its painting and welding lines, while the ABB robots will be deployed extensively for the battery and motor assembly lines. These include ABB’s IRB 5500 paint and IRB 2600 Integrated Dressing robots in its painting and welding lines, and IRB 6700 robots for assembly and material handling in the battery and motor assembly areas.

ABB robots will be digitally integrated into Ola’s AI-enabled mega-factory, to optimize robot performance, productivity and product quality. The company says the use of ABB’s robots and automation solutions will ensure remote digital connectivity and monitoring of the robots that will ride on Ola’s proprietary AI engine and tech stack.

Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and group CEO, Ola said: “We are delighted to bring on board ABB, a global leader in robotics, machine automation and digital services, as a key supplier and partner for robotics and automation solutions that will be deployed at our scooter mega-factory. ABB’s solutions will be riding on Ola’s own proprietary AI engine and tech stack embedded in our scooter mega-factory. We are bringing in global expertise and stitching up partnerships that will help us build out our factory in record speed and roll out the first of our electric scooters in the coming months”.

Sanjeev Sharma, MD, ABB India and South Asia said, “We are privileged to be an end to end partner of Ola Electric and contribute to the EV vision of this pathbreaking company and of our nation. ABB’s sustainable robotics automation solutions will complement the vision to build this mega factory to further the EV journey of our country. Our integrated automation package with digital connectivity, riding on Ola’s AI platform will be instrumental in the roll out of these world-class scooters for India and the rest of the world. Increased automation and robotics to make shop-floors safer, more productive and of impeccable quality will fast-track India’s transition to one of the leading agile, self-reliant and high-tech manufacturing economies of the world.”

Ola is building its mega-factory on Industry 4.0 principles and to be powered by its own proprietary AI Engine and tech stack that will be deeply integrated into all its systems, continuously self-learning and optimising every aspect of the manufacturing process. This will provide unprecedented control, automation and quality to the entire operations, especially with Ola’s implementation of cyber-physical and advanced IoE systems.

With an initial annual capacity of 2 million units, Ola’s Tamil Nadu factory will create 10,000 jobs and serve as the company’s global manufacturing hub for both India and international markets across Europe, UK, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. The mega-factory is also expected to be the country’s most automated, with about 5,000 robots and automated guided vehicles in use once the factory is fully operational to its full capacity.

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