Ola Electric has gone from strength to strength in the past couple of years. The Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturer has had impressive sales success with its scooters, setting sales records and then just as quickly toppling them when the next reporting period comes through on the calendar. In April 2023, it reported sales of 30,000 scooters across the country. While that number included both new registrations and advance bookings for scooters yet to be delivered, it’s undeniably positive either way.
If you’re Ola Electric and you’re having this much success, what do you do next? For one thing, Ola is still working on its first electric motorcycle. While there still aren’t details, the move from exclusively making electric scooters to also making motorcycles is still apparently in the cards as of May 2023.
For another thing, Ola Electric is apparently preparing itself for an initial public offering in either late 2023 or possibly early 2024. Sources wishing to remain anonymous spoke to both Moneycontrol and Reuters about the matter. While they agree that an IPO is in the offing, and that both Kotak Mahindra Capital and Goldman Sachs will likely be involved, they don’t completely agree on the timing.
According to Reuters, the strict end-of-2023 timeline comes at the insistence of Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal. When the news organization requested comment from Ola Electric, Kotak, and Goldman Sachs, it did not immediately hear back.
Meanwhile, Moneycontrol’s reporting suggests an early 2024 timeline instead, citing the EV maker’s desire to go public prior to India’s federal government EV subsidy scheme ends. As things currently stand, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-II, as it’s commonly called in local news) will decrease for vehicles purchased on or after June 1, 2024. Like Reuters, Moneycontrol did not immediately obtain a response from either Ola Electric, Kotak, or Goldman Sachs when it requested confirmation.
“No specific timelines have been finalized as yet but the target is to launch the IPO before the elections next year,” a source familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol. If that’s the case, then elections across the various states of India are currently scheduled to take place in April and May of 2024, which still tracks with the desire to go public prior to any FAME-II subsidy reductions.
In any case, as and when more information about Ola Electric’s business plans becomes clear, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
