In a funding round, Ola Electric announced that it has raised $384.43 million. The electric vehicle startup based in Bengaluru, which reportedly has no connections with ride-hailing startup Ola but still shares resources, disappointing many investors, did not disclose if the newly raised amount would surpass $200 million. It is currently heavily in debt and has a net valuation of less than $5.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Ola Electric and Ola, both of which have the same communication team, did not respond to comment requests.
The funding round was led by Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and bankrolled by State Bank of India, the Indian government-backed lender, although Ola Electric did not reveal the name of this round, according to a statement from the startup.
According to industry data, Ola Electric, which recently introduced several new low-priced variations and an upgraded version of its main S1 electric scooter model, holds a market share of over 30% in the EV scooter market.
“Despite the reduction in subsidies, most feature-rich EVs are 13-23% cheaper than ICE scooters over a five-year ownership cycle (taking into account the low resale value of EVs). Furthermore, the Ola S1 Air and
Ola Electric, which incurred a loss of over $130 million on revenue of about $330 million in the fiscal year ending in March, stated that the funds will be used to expand its EV business and establish “India’s first lithium-ion battery” – an Ion Cell Manufacturing Facility – in Krishnagiri, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Ola Electric, mentioned in a statement, “At Ola, our objective is to put an end to the ICE era in automobiles and our upcoming Gigafactory will be a significant stride in India’s journey towards becoming a global EV hub.”
“We are dedicated to developing fundamental technologies in EVs and cells, as well as rapidly scaling up manufacturing to expedite the shift towards sustainable mobility. Our investors and lenders have expressed deep confidence in Ola’s vision, and we express our gratitude to them for their continued support and encouragement.”
Source: techcrunch.com
