Ola Elec raises ₹3.2K crore for cell factory, EVs

Ola Electric has introduced new products in its electric scooter line-up, with the latest S1X starting from ₹89,999 ex-showroom for the 2kWh battery variant.

Mint was the first to report on 6 September that Ola Electric Mobility has signed an agreement to raise $140 million from existing investors including Temasek Holdings, at a valuation of $5.4 billion, lower than the $7-8 billion that Ola was seeking.

Singapore state investor Temasek is pumping in around $90 million. Others—mostly family offices—will contribute the remaining sum.

Ola Electric’s last round valued it at around $5 billion. In January 2022, Ola Electric raised around $200 million from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund and Edelweiss.

This round gives Ola Electric an additional buffer and a greater runway before its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

Ola Electric, a recipient of the government’s production-linked incentive for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC PLI) is setting up a lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in India with an initial capacity of 5 GWh in phase-1 which will be further scaled up in phases to 100 GWh at full capacity, Ola Electric said.

Ola Electric has appointed several investment banks and is preparing for an IPO in early 2024, Mint reported on 25 May.

Ola Electric leads the domestic electric two-wheeler market with its S1 and S1 Pro scooters.

In September, it had a nearly 29% share of e-scooters sold in India, according to the government’s VAHAN dashboard.

Ola Electric had showcased an electric car in August 2022, but the launch, originally slated for 2024, is likely to be delayed. It has also showcased designs for an e-motorcycle.

Ola Electric said it is seeing an increase in turnout at its experience centres following the launch of the S1 X+, its cheapest variant so far. “Our sales have gone through the roof this Dussehra and Navratri. Selling a scooter every 10 seconds right now, and almost 2.5x of last year,” Bhavish Agarwal, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) posted on X on the day of the Dussehra festival.

However, he did not clarify how long it had been observing the trend. Last month, rival Ather Energy announced it has raised ₹900 crore ($108.27 million) from its shareholders Hero MotoCorp and Singapore’s GIC through a rights issue.

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Updated: 27 Oct 2023, 12:01 AM IST