Ola Electric Gets Board Nod To Raise INR 1,700 Cr Debt

EV major Ola Electric’s board has approved a proposal to raise up to INR 1,700 Cr debt via non-convertible debentures (NCDs), term loans, working capital facilities, or any other eligible debt securities.

In an exchange filing, the company said that the debt could be raised in one or more tranches and/ or by way of one or more issuances. 

“… the board of directors… has inter-alia, considered and approved the proposal of fund raising by borrowing funds within the borrowing limits approved by the shareholders of the company, by way of: (i) term loans, working capital facilities; or (ii) issuance of NCDs or any other eligible debt securities, in one or more tranches, on a private placement basis or such other methods,” the filing said. 

Shares of Ola Electric ended today’s trading session 0.27% higher at INR 51.5 on the BSE. 

This comes as Ola Electric is going through a rough patch. Its share price has dropped by about 30% since its IPO, and the company has been facing intense competition from the likes of Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor in the electric two-wheeler market. 

It is also grappling with rising losses. Ola Electric’s net loss zoomed 50% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 564 Cr in Q3 FY25, while operating revenue declined 19% YoY to INR 1,045 Cr. 

Ola Electric’s Rising Regulatory Hurdles

The board approval also comes at a time when the EV maker is grappling with multiple regulatory challenges as authorities are investigating mismatches in its reported sales for the month of February 2025. 

Notably, for February 2025, Ola Electric claimed sales of over 25,000 scooters, while the government’s VAHAN portal showed only about 8,600 registrations. This led to probes and questions by SEBI and other government ministries, which questioned whether the company had made accurate disclosures and asked Ola Electric to revise its sales figures to include only vehicles that had actually been delivered. 

In addition, transport authorities in Maharashtra seized several Ola scooters for not following trade certification rules. Similar crackdowns have also been undertaken in other states.

Despite these challenges, Ola Electric continues to move forward with its new product launches. It is set to start delivering its Roadster X electric motorcycle from tomorrow, beginning in Bengaluru. 

In March this year, the EV major’s board approved an investment of INR 199 Cr in its battery manufacturing arm, Ola Cell Technologies, to boost production capacity and support its business needs. Earlier, the company said it expected to start delivering EVs with its ‘Bharat Cell’, produced at its gigafactory in Tamil Nadu, from Q1 FY26.

The gigafactory, which started operations in early 2025, currently has a capacity of 1.4 GWh, with the company planning to expand this significantly in the coming years.