Ola Electric Mobility Ltd aims to begin operations at its Giga plant in Tamil Nadu by March 2024. The IPO-bound Ola Electric Mobility intends to invest Rs 1,226 crore from its public offering to boost the factory’s lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity in its latter stages.
Ola Electric has been chosen to participate in the government’s Rs 18,100-crore production-linked incentive plan for advanced chemistry cell storage manufacturing. The scheme granted the corporation a capacity of 20 GWh.
The facility, built by subsidiary OCT, began building in June and is located near Ola Futurefactory, where the company’s electric two-wheelers and certain components are manufactured.
Ola Electric said, “We believe that in developing our in-house cell manufacturing capabilities, we will be able to gain greater control over the quality, supply and cost of our batteries and EVs.”
The Giga plant at Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, will begin operations with a cumulative capacity of 1.4 GWh and will be expanded to 5 GWh by October. The first phase is being funded by OCT’s internal accruals and long-term borrowings.
The Bengaluru-based company received Rs 3,200 crore in October from Temasek-led investors and the State Bank of India through a mix of equity and loans. The cash would be used for commercial expansion, including the Krishnagiri facility, according to the corporation.
The Giga factory’s cumulative capacity will be increased in the second phase to 6.4 GWh by April 2025 and to 20 GWh by June 2026 in subsequent phases. The IPO revenues will be used to fund Rs 1,226 crore in capital expenditure for capacity expansion in the second phase.
The Bengaluru-based business has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an IPO, with the goal of raising Rs 5,500 crore through the issuance of new shares. The public offering also includes an offer to sell 95,191,195 shares by current promoters and investors, including founder Bhavish Aggarwal.