Ola Electric may be copping flak for the delays in the delivery timeline of its electric scooters (S1 and S1 Pro). But the company, which has been brushing aside the criticism, seems to be pushing ahead with its larger investment plans.
According to a report in Business Standard, Ola has committed itself to total investments of Rs 3500 crore over five years under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile industry.
This commitment, the report said, is higher than the minimum investment required for such firms (Rs 2000 crore).
Last week, the government cleared twenty companies for the benefits offered under the PLI scheme for the automotive industry and cumulatively invest Rs 45,016 crore in the sector in the next five years. Ola Electric is one of the six non-automotive investors that made the cut for the scheme.
This PLI scheme for automotive sector along with the already launched PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) and Faster Adaption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles(FAME) is expected to help India to leapfrog from traditional fossil fuel based automobile transportation system to environmentally cleaner, sustainable, advanced and more efficient Electric Vehicles (EV) based system.
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Ola's numbers and govt's don't match
Ola, it may be recalled, raised over $200 million from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss and others last month. After the funds infusion, the company’s valuation has gone up to $5 billion. In September 2021, Ola Electric had raised over $200 million led by Falcon Edge, Softbank and others at a valuation of $3 billion.
Over the last 12 months, Ola Electric has built its Futurefactory, the world’s largest electric two-wheeler manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu. Ola S1 and S1 Pro are being sold through direct-to-consumer model with fully digital purchase coupled with home test rides and doorstep delivery and after sales service. Of course, the company has been beset by production issues and hence its delivery schedule has been hit. The vehicles have also come under criticism for performance issues.
As per the government data available two weeks back, Ola Electric registered sales of 1,923 units of Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro. The company began its delivery of scooters on December 15. The figures from Vahan dahsboard (government numbers) do not tally with the company’s claims of shipping 4,000 vehicles in the first phase of the sale. Ola opened the second purchase window for buyers on January 21.
Meanwhile Ola has also suggested that it has interest in entering the 4-wheeler EV market. Ola has also announced that it has begun the rollout of its charging network points called Hypercharger across cities, starting with residential complexes and key BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) petrol pumps. The company plans to install over 4,000 charging points through next year.
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