Ola Electric has set up a global centre for engineering and vehicle design at Coventry in the UK called Ola Futurefoundry. Coventry is a global hub for automotive design.
Ola will invest over $100 million over the next five years in the centre and staff it with over 200 designers and automotive engineers. The centre will also partner with education and research institutions in the UK to collaborate on technology research and development.
Ola Futurefoundry will work together with the design and engineering teams based at the Ola Campus in Bangalore. It will focus on multiple disciplines of two-wheel and four-wheel vehicle design, advanced automotive engineering, digital and physical modeling and vehicle R&D around new energy systems, including cell technologies.
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola, said, “Ola Futurefoundry will enable us to tap into the fantastic automotive design and engineering talent in the UK to create the next generation of electric vehicles. Futurefoundry will work in close collaboration with our headquarters in Bangalore to help us build the future of mobility as we make EVs affordable across the world.”
Mahindra target
Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday announced that despite various global supply chain challenges, it has met its commitment of billing the first 14,000 XUV700s by January 2022.
It also announced that the XUV700 has clocked almost 1,00,000 bookings since October 7, 2021, making it the fastest SUV to reach the one lakh booking milestone. The waiting period for a majority of the variants stand at 6-10 months, while the AX7 series has a waiting period of well over 12 months.
Land Rover bookings
Land Rover on Thursday opened bookings for New Range Rover SV in India with a choice of design themes, details and material choices from Special Vehicle Operations.
Rohit Suri, president and managing director, Jaguar Land Rover India, said: “The New Range Rover SV adds more luxury and personalisation options.”
The variant features a refined new 4.4 litre twin turbo petrol engine which delivers a power of 390 kW and torque of 700 Nm. It will be available in both standard and long wheelbase body designs, including a five-seat LWB configuration for the first time. LWB customers also have the option of specifying the four-seat SV Signature Suite with an electrically deployable Club Table and integrated refrigerator.
