Ola Electric raises over $200 mn, takes valuation to $3 bn

EV chargers

New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Ola Electric on Thursday announced that it has raised over $200 million led by Falcon Edge, Softbank and others, at a valuation of $3 billion.

Ola said it will accelerate development of other vehicle platforms including electric motorbike, mass market scooter and its electric car.

“We’re proud to lead the EV revolution from India to the world. India has the talent and the capability to build technologies of the future for the industries of the future for the entire world,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola.

The fundraise comes at a time when Ola has set the benchmark in two-wheeler sales by selling over $150 million of scooters in its first purchase window – claiming to outsell the entire two-wheeler industry on each of the two days.

Ola Electric has built its Futurefactory, a most-advanced 2W factory, that has completed phase 1 construction and is currently undergoing production trials.

Ola Futurefactory is also the world’s largest factory that is entirely run by women. At full scale, it will have over 10,000 women employed.

“India is building technologies of the future and becoming a global EV hub! With this raise, we will accelerate our vehicle development across 2W scooters, motorbikes and 4W. And fast track Mission Electric: No petrol 2W in India after 2025!” tweeted Aggarwal.

The firm announced in July that its electric scooter had received a record-breaking 100,000 reservations within the first 24 hours, making it the most pre-booked scooter in the world.

The Ola S1 is priced at Rs 99,999; for the S1 Pro, customers will have to pay Rs 1,29,999 (ex-showroom). These prices include the FAME II subsidy, but exclude state subsidies.

The company said the e-scooters will be priced aggressively to make them widely accessible. They will roll out from the company’s state-of-the-art Futurefactory in Tamil Nadu next month.

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