Ola Electric has completed its plans to introduce an electric autorickshaw targeted at direct customer sales, according to people familiar with the situation. It is anticipated that the car, most likely called Raahi, would be unveiled later this month. It will face competition from vehicles such as the Mahindra Treo, Piaggio Ape e-city, and Bajaj RE in the electric three-wheeler market. This product has been under development for a few years now, in line with Ola Electric’s larger goals of breaking into the commercial vehicle market.
Ola Electric is planning to release a number of announcements in the upcoming months, including information regarding its gigafactory, as part of its IPO preparations. This strategy includes the introduction of the e-autorickshaw, with an internal objective to finish it within the.
Depending on the model and extra features, Mahindra, Piaggio, and Bajaj presently charge between INR 2.0 lakh and INR 3.5 lakh for their electric autorickshaws. Sales of electric three-wheelers surpassed 580,000 units last year, up 66% from 2022, and accounted for more than 50% of all three-wheeler sales in 2023, according to the official transportation website Vahan.
One of Ola Electric’s planned launches in advance of its initial public offering (IPO) is the Raahi, which translates to “traveller” in Hindi. The company filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in December of the previous year. In addition to an offer for current investors to sell 95.2 million shares, the company hopes to raise INR 5,500 crore through a new issuance.
Ola Electric is concentrating on bolstering its market-leading position in the electric two-wheeler industry in advance of the initial public offering (IPO). The business increased the battery warranty for all of its scooter models to eight years in February. It also revealed plans to expand its network of service centers from 400 to 600 by April, sell portable fast chargers to consumers, and install 10,000 fast-charging stations by the end of the following quarter. A four-wheeled vehicle was also included in the company’s draft IPO documents as a “intangible asset under development.”
Ola Electric’s founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, said the company plans to open its gigafactory by the end of this quarter. The gigafactory is going to produce its own batteries.
Based on information from the Vahan website, Ola Electric sold 33,722 electric scooters as of February, accounting for a 41% market share. TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Ather Energy were the competitors with 17.7%, 14.2%, and 11% of the market, respectively.
Ola Electric declared a net loss of INR 1,472 crore for the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2023, despite operating revenue of INR 2,631 crore. The company reported its first full year of sales in the June 30, 2023 quarter, with operational revenue of INR 1,243 crore and a net loss of INR 267 crore.
