When Our Beloved BluSmart Hit a Speed Bump
Our preferred clean, quiet ride through the city—BluSmart—is suddenly at the centre of a storm. Once the poster child of India’s green mobility revolution, the EV-first cab aggregator is facing its biggest crisis since its launch in 2019.
Once celebrated as India’s electric answer to Ola and Uber, BluSmart has now suspended ride bookings across major parts of Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru—it’s very heartlands. While the app still sits on the Play Store, it’s practically frozen: no time slots, no dates, no rides.
This isn’t a tech issue—it’s a strategic pullback. And it’s unraveling fast.
In a dramatic shake-up in April, its top leadership—CEO, CBO, CTO, and VP—all resigned. The company brushed off rumours of an Uber acquisition, but the message is clear: something’s not right in the BluSmart garage.
It’s quite the fall from grace. Not long ago, LinkedIn was abuzz with praise for BluSmart’s service quality. International investors like BP Ventures and Zurich-based climate finance firms were writing fat cheques—$24 million kind of fat. It felt like the company could do no wrong.
So, what happened?
Behind this dramatic turn is a devastating SEBI investigation into Gensol Engineering, BluSmart’s close financial ally and EV leasing partner. On April 13, SEBI disclosed that Gensol diverted over ₹200 crore meant for EV purchases. That’s not just a governance red flag—it’s a warning siren.
Well, here’s the short version: BluSmart built its business by leasing a fleet of EVs—unlike Ola and Uber, which pushed car ownership onto their drivers. That meant BluSmart had to carry the financial weight of every vehicle on the road.
Where did the money come from? Largely from Gensol Engineering, another company founded by BluSmart CEO Anmol Singh Jaggi. Gensol secured government-backed loans to buy EVs, which conveniently ended up in BluSmart’s fleet.
But here’s where it went off track. Gensol wasn’t exactly transparent about this cosy setup. While BluSmart expanded, Gensol’s public investors saw little benefit. And when Gensol defaulted on ₹470 crore in loans by the end of 2024, the entire system began to unravel. Credit ratings tanked. Stock prices plummeted. And a last-ditch plan to sell off 3,000 EVs to Refex Green Mobility? That deal was cancelled too.
Now BluSmart is scrambling. With Gensol out of the picture, it’s lost a key financial lifeline. Over a third of its fleet came from Gensol. Losses are piling up—₹215 crores in FY23—and customer complaints are growing louder.
So yes, our beloved BluSmart, the one we once proudly booked to “go green,” is now stuck in survival mode.
The question now is: Can BluSmart survive without its training wheels? Or was it always running on borrowed time?
Meanwhile, in the Fast Lane: Ola, Uber, and India’s EV Warriors
As BluSmart stares down an uncertain future, its rivals are only stepping on the gas.
Ola Electric: Betting the House on Batteries
If there’s one name that screams ambition in India’s EV space, it’s Ola. Under Bhavish Aggarwal’s aggressive leadership, Ola Electric is building one of the world’s largest EV manufacturing facilities—the so-called “Futurefactory.” From electric two-wheelers to battery innovation, Ola’s vision is vertically integrated, end-to-end.
While Ola Cabs has yet to go fully electric, it’s testing the waters with pilot EV fleets in select cities and integrating Ola Electric’s scooters into last-mile logistics. Bhavish is betting big that India’s EV transition won’t just be about taxis—it’ll be about everything on wheels.
Uber: Playing the Long Game
Uber isn’t making as much noise as Ola, but it’s quietly moving pieces on the EV board. It’s partnering with Tata Motors to deploy thousands of Nexon EVs in India, rolling out EV-only segments in cities like Delhi and Bengaluru. The difference? Uber is taking a lighter, asset-light route—focusing on partnerships, not ownership. A slow burn, but a steady one.
Other Contenders in the EV Chessboard
- Lithium Urban: One of the earliest movers in the electric corporate transport space, focusing on B2B clients like Wipro and Adobe.
- eee-Taxi and Evera: Smaller players with niche EV taxi operations, mostly around Delhi NCR.
- Ather Energy: Dominating the EV two-wheeler market with growing ambitions in mobility services.
India’s EV game is not just about who gets the most cars on the road—it’s about building sustainable supply chains, reliable charging networks, and customer trust. Whoever wins this race will need deep pockets, long vision, and the agility to survive financial storms like the one BluSmart is weathering.
What’s Next?
BluSmart’s stumble doesn’t mean India’s EV dream is dead—it’s a reality check. Scaling green mobility isn’t just about good tech or glossy branding. It’s about sound business fundamentals, clean governance, and knowing when to hit the brakes.
Ola, Uber, Tata, Mahindra, and others are still very much in the race. And who knows? BluSmart might just find a way to steer back on course.
But for now, the crown of India’s EV mobility kingpin is still up for grabs—and the track just got a lot more competitive.
