Ola Electric Plans ₹2,000-Cr Fundraise for Battery Arm, Stock Gains 5%

EV-maker Ola Electric is looking to raise ₹2,000 crore for its battery manufacturing arm Ola Cell Technologies (OCT), according to news agency PTI. Investment banks Avendus and Motilal Oswal have been appointed to manage the fundraising process.

Following this development, its shares closed 5.28% higher at ₹24.32 on Monday.

The move comes at a critical time for the electric scooter maker, which has been working to restructure its operations and strengthen its finances after a turbulent period.

Beyond shoring up the balance sheet, the fundraise will also help establish a market valuation for OCT, an asset that has not yet been formally priced but has already attracted interest from several large financial investors, including sovereign wealth funds, the report added.

At the heart of OCT is a gigafactory, a large-scale battery cell manufacturing plant, built with an upfront investment of ₹3,500 crore. The facility is a significant step toward reducing India's dependence on imported battery cells, a vulnerability that has long plagued the country's electric vehicle ambitions.

Importantly, the plant is not limited to two-wheelers. It is designed to supply energy storage products across multiple industries.

OCT's Battery Innovation Centre employs over 200 specialists recruited from global companies and has built a portfolio of nearly 400 patents. The centre works across multiple battery chemistries and formats, including technologies considered to be at the cutting edge of lithium-ion battery development.

Ola has also developed dry electrode manufacturing technology, widely regarded as one of the most significant recent breakthroughs in battery production.

It is to be noted that the fundraise comes at a time when Ola Electric has been actively expanding beyond the scooter market. In January 2026, the company launched Ola Shakti, India's first fully domestically designed and manufactured residential battery energy storage system. The system is powered by Ola's indigenously developed 4680 Bharat Cells and is designed for use in households, farms, and small businesses.

The latest development also aligns with India's broader energy transition. As the country pushes toward generating 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, the need for large-scale energy storage becomes critical. Solar and wind power cannot be switched on and off on demand, meaning a significant share of the electricity they generate will need to pass through storage systems before reaching consumers.

Ola may have already taken steps in this direction. It earlier launched residential battery energy storage systems and has plans to enter the commercial energy storage market as well.

The fundraise, however, is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Ola Electric has been navigating a difficult patch recently. The company reported widening losses in its latest quarterly results. It has also lost its leadership position in the EV two-wheeler market, dropping to fourth place with a market share of 5.87% as of January 27, 2026.

The company’s third-quarter (Q3 FY26) earnings, released on February 13, 2026, reflected this slowdown. Ola Electric reported a 31.9% sequential decline in revenue and a net loss of ₹487 crore. Revenue from operations stood at ₹470 crore, down from ₹690 crore in the previous quarter and 55% lower than ₹1,045 crore in the same quarter last year.

The adjusted operating EBITDA loss widened 25% compared to the previous quarter, reaching ₹323 crore from ₹258 crore, although it improved 34.6% compared to ₹494 crore a year earlier.

The EBITDA margin also worsened, falling to negative 68.7% from negative 37.4% in the previous quarter. Total operating expenses increased slightly by 3.8% quarter-on-quarter to ₹432 crore but declined 34% compared to the year-ago period.

In the automotive segment alone (excluding the cell business), revenue fell 55% year-on-year to ₹467 crore and dropped 32% sequentially.