Ola Electric raises ₹3,200 crores for its upcoming battery cell facility

Indian EV firm Ola Electric has announced the successful closure of funding round amounting to ₹3,200 crores ($380 million) in a mix of equity and debt from from Temasek-led investors and State Bank of India (SBI). 

It is expected that the latest funding will go into the completion and further expansion of the company's upcoming lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing gigafactory located in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu and strengthen the brand's EV products and market portfolio. 

Ola Electric claims the development as a "clear testament to leading the change in electrification of India", and vows to accelerate its growth by ramping up its E2W manufacturing capacity and launch new products including electric cars in future, while also fast-tracking the construction of the gigafactory. 

"At Ola, our vision is to end ICE age in automobiles and our upcoming Gigafactory will be a big leap in India's journey towards becoming a global EV hub", commented Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Ola Electric. 

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"We are committed towards developing core technologies in EVs and cell and are rapidly scaling up manufacturing to further accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. Our investors and lenders have shown deep faith in Ola's vision, and we thank them for the constant support and encouragement", he added, when speaking on the latest funding.

It is to be noted that Ola was the only EV automaker in the country to be selected by the Union government of India for its flagship ACC-PLI scheme, with a stated manufacturing capacity of 20 GWh. The company is now setting up its cell making facility in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, in proximity to its EV assembly, with an initial capacity of 5 GWh in the initial phase. 

The said gigafactory is expected to become operational by early next year. This is likely to be one of the pioneering facilities in India to roll out battery cell in large scale, moving a step closer to making the country a cell manufacturing hub for global markets.