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Ola Electric to focus sharply on two-wheelers, cars not on agenda

The country's largest electric two-wheeler player is going for the biggest IPO of the year so far, aiming to raise Rs 6,146 crore

Bhavish Aggarwal

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, Ola Electric

Peerzada Abrar Bengaluru

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IPO-bound Ola Electric would be sharply focused on electric two-wheelers rather than products like cars and three-wheelers, which could be part of the company’s long-term projects.

Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal in 2022 had said that the firm was planning to launch an electric sports car in 2024. Aggarwal had said the Ola Electric car, with an all-glass roof, will be one of the fastest cars in India and can go from 0 to 100 km/h within 4 seconds.

“What we did two years ago is that we shared a vision of a certain (car) design, that's it. Our focus is very sharply on the two-wheeler ecosystem. Within that, our starting point was the scooters and we built a very broad portfolio of scooters. Our next step is now motorbikes and we've already announced our move into motorbikes last year. This year, on August 15, you will see further movement in that direction,” said Aggarwal at a company event in Bengaluru. “What we are focused on is actually creating the whole manufacturing and technology ecosystem around any future EV product. For example, our ‘4680 Lithium cell’ is going to be relevant for any form factor of any product such as scooter, motorbike, car or drone. The aim is to build the foundation of the core EV industry. This is a 10-year-plus journey that we are on and we have just scratched the surface so far. Right now, we are not focusing on any ‘product concepts’ beyond the two-wheeler segment.”
 

Ola Electric’s plans to build cars are expected to put it in competition with Indian players such as the Tata group and Mahindra & Mahindra, and global giants like Tesla and Hyundai. The car was expected to be equipped with advanced computers in a 4W, assisted driving capabilities, and keyless and handless doors. It was also expected to have Ola’s very own MoveOS software.

Ola Electric, the country’s largest electric two-wheeler player, is going for the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of the year so far, aiming to raise Rs 6,146 crore ($734 million).

The Softbank-backed company has set a price band of Rs 72-76 per share for the maiden share sale and is expected to test the appetite for new-age loss-making companies. At the top end of the price band, Ola will be valued at Rs 33,522 crore ($4 billion) on a post-diluted basis. The company’s IPO will open on August 2.

Through the IPO, the Bengaluru-based firm is looking to issue fresh shares worth Rs 5,500 crore, which will be utilised to repay debt, expand its gigafactory, and be used for research and development.

Response to MapMyIndia notice

Digital maps provider MapMyIndia has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Ola Electric, alleging that the company has copied its proprietary data to build its own Ola Maps. The lawsuit was filed just days before Ola Electric is about to float its IPO.

Addressing the allegations made by MapMyIndia, Aggarwal said Ola Electric is not in the map business. “There are opportunistic players across the industry. We would definitely respond to them (lawsuit) at the right time,” said Aggarwal.

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First Published: Jul 31 2024 | 9:42 PM IST

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