Ola Electric raises $200 million, to speed up electric bike, car production
Ola Electric, India’s latest electric two-wheeler manufacturing company, has announced that it has raised over 200 million dollars from Falcon Edge, Softbank and others. The lenders have put Ola Electric's valuation at around 3 billion dollars ahead of the company's plan to launch its IPO.
The funds came at a time when Ola has already got off to a flying start with its first products - the S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters. Ola claims it has sold electric scooters worth over ₹1,100 crore in just two days earlier this month. The Ola S1 electric scooter is priced at ₹1 lakh while the more capable S1 Pro is priced at ₹1.30 lakh.
After the launch of the electric scooters, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and Co-Founder of Ola Electric, had expressed his intentions to expand the business to electric motorcycles and cars as well. The latest fund raise has given a boost to his plans.
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“India is building technologies of the future and becoming a global EV hub! With this raise, we will accelerate our vehicle dev across 2W scooters, motorbikes and 4W. And fast track Mission Electric: No petrol 2W in India after 2025," Aggarwal wrote while announcing the fund raise development on Twitter today.
The company has issued a statement saying that it will now speed up development of these vehicle platforms, which will also include mass market electric scooters.
“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. I thank our existing investors and welcome new ones to Ola. Together we will bring mobility to a billion and sustainability to the future," Bhavish Aggarwal added.
The Ola S1 electric scooter comes with a claimed riding range of around 120 kms. The S1 Pro electric scooter has a range of around 180 kms. The S1 Pro is offered in 10 colour options, has a higher top speed of 115 kmph and a bigger battery pack than the standard S1 version.
Ola Electric manufactures its two-wheelers at the Futurefactory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The facility, which is currently undergoing production trials, is said to be the largest and most advanced two-wheeler manufacturing facility in the world. The factory, which has been built in the last six months, is entirely run by women. At full scale, it will have over 10,000 women employed.
