Ola Electric secures ₹3.2K crore to build cell factory and expand EV portfolio
Ola Electric announced on Thursday that it has collected ₹3,200 crore to develop its electric two-wheeler business and build a plant for cell manufacture. The equity fundraiser was spearheaded by Temasek, an existing investor. State Bank of India (SBI) provided a project loan for the financing.
Ola Electric has added additional items to its lineup of electric scooters. The most recent S1X, with a 2kWh battery option, is priced at ₹89,999 ex-showroom.
Mint was the first to report on 6 September that Ola Electric Mobility signed an agreement to raise $140 million from existing investors including Temasek Holdings, at a $5.4 billion valuation 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.
On September 6, Mint was the first to disclose that Ola Electric Mobility had reached a deal to raise $140 million from current investors, including Temasek Holdings. This amount represents a $5.4 billion value, which is less than the $7-8 billion Ola had been aiming for. Temasek, a state investor from Singapore, is contributing about $90 million. Others, primarily family offices, will contribute the remaining amount.
After its most recent round, Ola Electric was valued at almost $5 billion. Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, and Edelweiss contributed about $200 million to Ola Electric’s fundraising efforts in January 2022. Ola Electric now has more runway and a cushion before its planned initial public offering (IPO) thanks to this investment. The government’s production-linked incentive for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC PLI) recipient Ola Electric is building a lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in India.
Phase 1 of the facility will have an initial capacity of 5 GWh, and it will progressively scale up to 100 GWh at full capacity, according to Ola Electric. Ola Electric is getting ready for an IPO in early 2024 and has engaged a number of investment banks, according to a May 25 Mint story.
Ola Electric is the market leader in the country for electric two-wheelers thanks to its S1 and S1 Pro scooters.
Its percentage of e-scooters sold in India in September was close to 29%, according to data from the government’s VAHAN dashboard. Although Ola Electric has shown off an electric vehicle in August 2022, the launch—which was initially scheduled for 2024—is probably going to be postponed. Additionally, it has featured e-motorcycle designs. Ola Electric reported that after the release of the S1 X+, its most affordable model to date, more people are visiting its experience centers.
“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 had raised ₹900 crore ($108.27 million) from its shareholders Hero MotoCorp and Singapore’s GIC through a rights issue.