BENGALURU: India’s only Electric Vehicle (EV) unicorn, Ola Electric, is likely to receive USD 950,000 investment from auto magnate and chairman of Hero MotoCorp Pawan Munjal in Series-B funding in a bid to consolidate its fast-growing EV business.
Munjal is investing in the EV arm of Ola under the entity name Pawan Munjal Family Trust, the regulatory filing sourced from financial data platform, paper.vc, indicated. Munjal has been allotted 18 Series-B preference shares at a premium rate of Rs 39,87,608.54 (USD 54,000 approximately).
Munjal’s investment in Ola Electric is seen as a strategic investment based on his negotiations with former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is an independent board director and investor in Ola’s electric arm.
"His investment in EV two-wheeler manufacturing firm Ather Energy and bike-sharing platform Vogo earlier essentially implies that Munjal is interested in funding future mobility start-ups," according to a source. The auto industry veteran’s investment will be the second such funding in Ola Electric following a USD 1.2 million fundraiser from Ratan Tata in Series-A round.
Bhavish Aggarwal led ride-hailing platform had successfully roped in Soft Bank, which invested USD 250 million through its SB Topaz (Cayman) entity in July 2019 that quickly raised the valuation of Ola Electric Mobility (OEM) to USD1 billion.
South Korea-based auto giants Hyundai and Kia Motors pumped in a total of USD 350 million into Ola Electric, triggering speculations that auto manufacturers are tying up with Ola to help build its EVs fleet as well as charging stations.
OEM, which was set up in March 2019, has announced its mission to bring one million EVs on roads by 2022. According to a report released by the Ola Electric mobility institute, it said that its focus will lie on building a fleet of e-rickshaws and two-wheelers that would drive the business more than the conventional car-sharing services.
OEM mission
OEM has announced its mission to bring one million EVs on roads by 2022. The government has also cut down on the registration fees for EVs to promote them