EV Maker Okinawa To Raise INR 60 Cr From Existing Backer

EV maker Okinawa Autotech is looking to raise INR 60 Cr (around $7 Mn) from existing investor Dhruv Khush Business Ventures. 

As per its MCA filings, the EV startup’s board passed a resolution on June 17 to allot 23.51 Lakh shares at an issue price of INR 255.21 each on a private placement basis. 

Okinawa plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to meet working capital requirements and to repay its debt. 

“In order to meet the funding requirements of the company for, working capital and repayment of debt, it is proposed to issue and allot up to 23,51,000 equity shares of face value INR 10 each at a price of INR 255.21 per share…, aggregating up to INR 60,00,00,000, to the identified investors on a private placement basis,” the filing read. 

The development was first reported by Entrackr. 

Founded in 2015 by Jeetender Sharma and Rupali Sharma, Okinawa manufactures electric two-wheelers, including models such as RIDGE+, PRAISE PRO, IPRAISE+, OKHI-90, R30, and LITE. The startup claims to have a retail footprint network of more than 350 dealers across India. 

Okinawa’s Regulatory Troubles

Competing with legacy giants like TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto and listed new-age tech companies like Ola Electric and Ather Energy, Okinawa has been a laggard in India’s electric two-wheeler space. The company has sold a mere 1,266 electric scooters so far in 2025, capturing a mere 0.23% market share. 

The lacklustre sales have been a result of the government’s scrutiny of the EV maker. Okinawa, along with 13 other two-wheeler EV manufacturers, was under the Centre’s scanner for allegedly flouting localisation norms under the FAME-II scheme in 2023. 

Hero Electric and Okinawa were the first two OEMs whose incentives were suspended under the scheme. 

Under the FAME-II scheme, domestic EV manufacturers could provide a discount of up to 40% on vehicle costs, reimbursable by the government as a subsidy. However, to qualify for the subsidy, manufacturers needed to ensure that at least 50% of their products incorporated locally manufactured components.

In August last year, the Delhi High Court (HC) dismissed the startup’s plea seeking to restrain the Centre from recovering subsidies worth INR 116.8 Cr disbursed to it under the FAME-II scheme.

In December, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) conducted search operations at premises linked to Okinawa, Hero Electric and Benling India, the corporate affairs ministry said in a statement. As per the SFIO, these companies deceptively showed compliance with the heavy industries ministry’s (MHI’s) guidelines to claim subsidies. 

Amid the fallout, Okinawa, which had invested a substantial amount to set up a second unit in Rajasthan’s Karoli, was intermittently manufacturing EVs to fulfil some outstanding orders and thus avoid legal conflicts with their dealers.