Zero to IPO: The Ola Electric Story

In seven years, Ola Electric went from a cab company's side project to India's largest electric two-wheeler maker, then to a Rs 6,145 crore IPO — and then to one of the stock market's most sobering post-listing falls. It is a story of audacious scale, breakneck growth, and the hard difference between selling a vision and servicing a vehicle.

This is the nineteenth edition of IPOlist.in's "Zero to IPO" series — the founding-to-listing journeys of the companies behind India's biggest IPOs.

The founding moment: a cab company's EV experiment

Ola Electric was established in 2017 as a wholly owned subsidiary of ANI Technologies, the parent of ride-hailing firm Ola Cabs, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal. The original idea was practical, not glamorous: cut the emissions and fuel dependence of Ola's own cab fleet and test electric mobility at scale. In May 2017, the company launched a pilot in Nagpur, setting up charging stations across the city and procuring electric cabs, e-buses and e-rickshaws from other manufacturers.

Within a year, the ambition had grown. In April 2018, Ola Electric announced a target of 1 million electric vehicles in its cab service by 2022. But the real turning point came between December 2018 and January 2019, when Aggarwal bought a 92.5% stake in Ola Electric from ANI Technologies — reportedly at a valuation of just Rs 1 lakh — and spun it off as a separate company. ANI Technologies kept a 7.5% stake in return for the use of the "Ola" brand. What had been a fleet-electrification project was now an independent company with its own destiny.

The unicorn sprint: Tata, Tiger and SoftBank

Independence brought money — fast. In February 2019, Ola Electric raised $56 million from Tiger Global and Matrix India. In May 2019, Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount as part of its Series A round, a symbolic endorsement that carried enormous weight in India. Then, in July 2019, SoftBank led a $250 million Series B round that pushed Ola Electric's valuation past $1 billion. Less than a year after becoming independent, it was a unicorn.

The funding kept coming: more than $200 million in September 2021 at a $3 billion valuation, $53 million led by Temasek in December 2021, and another $200 million in January 2022 at a $5 billion valuation. Investors were not just buying a scooter company; they were buying Aggarwal's pitch that India would leapfrog straight to electric two-wheelers — and that Ola would build the whole stack, from batteries to factories, itself.

The pivot: buying a Dutch scooter, building a mega-factory

In May 2020, Ola Electric acquired Etergo, an Amsterdam-based crowdfunded electric scooter maker, for 3.75 million euros in a distress sale. The acquisition gave it a ready scooter design to re-engineer for India, and Ola announced it would launch its own scooters by 2021.

Then came the factory. In December 2020, the company announced plans for the world's largest two-wheeler factory — the Futurefactory — in Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 2,400 crore, after signing a memorandum with the state government. It acquired 500 acres at Pochampalli in Krishnagiri district in January 2021, and construction began in late February. The plan was audacious: a fully automated plant with an eventual annual capacity of 10 million units.

The S1 frenzy — and the first cracks

On 15 August 2021, Ola Electric rolled out its first scooters, the S1 and S1 Pro, from the Futurefactory. The response was extraordinary: more than one lakh pre-bookings within 24 hours of bookings opening, and 500,000 bookings in the first month of availability. Deliveries began on 15 December 2021, with the first 100 customers in Bengaluru and Chennai.

But the launch also revealed the pattern that would haunt the company: promise ahead of delivery. Some promised features were not enabled in the initial deliveries, early customers reported build-quality and range issues, and the global chip shortage delayed dispatches. In March 2022, after a fire incident in Pune, the company recalled a batch of 1,441 scooters as a "pre-emptive measure". Ola Electric was now India's electric-scooter market leader — with roughly a 30% share in 2023 — but its service and quality reputation was already under strain.

By FY24, the scale was real: revenue of Rs 5,009 crore and production of about 329,000 vehicles. But so were the losses: a net loss of Rs 1,584 crore in FY24. Ola Electric had never made a profit — a fact its IPO prospectus stated plainly.

The road to the IPO

Ola Electric's Rs 6,145.56 crore IPO opened on 2 August 2024 and closed on 6 August 2024, at a price band of Rs 72–76 per share with a lot size of 195 shares (minimum investment Rs 14,820). The issue comprised a fresh issue of Rs 5,500 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 645.56 crore (8.49 crore shares). Aggarwal himself sold 3.79 crore shares in the offer for sale for about Rs 288 crore, while SoftBank, Tiger Global and other early backers partly exited.

The IPO was subscribed 4.27 times overall — 5.31 times in the QIB category, 3.92 times from retail investors and 2.40 times from non-institutional investors. Allotment was finalised on 7 August 2024.

Listing day: flat open, 20% upper circuit

Shares listed on the BSE and NSE on 9 August 2024 at Rs 76 — flat against the issue price. Then the stock turned. It surged 20% to hit the upper circuit at Rs 91.18 on the BSE (Rs 91.20 on the NSE), valuing the company at about Rs 40,218 crore. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Aggarwal — then 38, holding 36.94% pre-listing — added $1.4 billion to his wealth on debut, taking his net worth to $2.6 billion.

Within a week, the stock rallied further to a high of about Rs 157.40 — more than double the IPO price. For a few days, Ola Electric looked like the defining EV success story of Indian markets.

Where Ola Electric stands today

The peak did not last. The stock slid through 2025 as sales fell, service complaints mounted and competition from legacy two-wheeler makers intensified. In FY25, revenue fell to Rs 4,514 crore from Rs 5,010 crore, while the net loss widened to Rs 2,276 crore from Rs 1,584 crore. Calendar-year sales roughly halved, from about 4.07 lakh units in 2024 to about 1.97 lakh in 2025, even as India's overall electric two-wheeler market grew an estimated 20–25%.

Registrations data from VAHAN showed the market-share slide starkly: from around 30% in FY25 to about 12% in FY26, with FY26 registrations of 1,64,294 units, down 52% year-on-year. The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny: it received a SEBI show-cause notice dated 10 April (as disclosed in its letter of offer) relating to sales, store-expansion and Roadster delivery disclosures, and filed a settlement application in June. The allegations have not been established, and the company has said it believes its reported operational metrics are accurate.

The fightback is under way. Ola Electric has pushed into battery cells — its indigenously made 4680 Bharat Cell now powers the S1 Pro+ — launched its Gen 3 scooter range and Roadster motorcycles, and announced a Rs 1,000 crore rights issue priced at Rs 27 per share (record date 13 October 2026) to fund its battery and energy-storage bets. In Q1 FY27, its consolidated net loss narrowed about 22% year-on-year to Rs 336 crore, though operating revenue fell 45% to Rs 455 crore. As of 27 October 2026, the stock traded around Rs 35.78 — roughly 53% below its Rs 76 IPO price and more than 75% below its post-listing peak.

Milestones timeline

FAQs

When was Ola Electric founded?

Ola Electric was founded in 2017 by Bhavish Aggarwal, initially as a wholly owned subsidiary of ANI Technologies, the parent of Ola Cabs. It was spun off as an independent company in late 2018–early 2019.

What was the Ola Electric IPO price and listing price?

The IPO price band was Rs 72–76 per share, and the issue price was fixed at Rs 76. Shares listed on 9 August 2024 at Rs 76 on both exchanges, then surged 20% to close at the upper circuit of Rs 91.18 on the BSE.

How much was the Ola Electric IPO subscribed?

The Rs 6,145.56 crore IPO was subscribed 4.27 times overall — 5.31 times by QIBs, 3.92 times by retail investors and 2.40 times by NIIs.

Is Ola Electric profitable?

No. Ola Electric has reported losses every year since inception, including a Rs 1,584 crore loss in FY24 and a Rs 2,276 crore loss in FY25. Its Q1 FY27 loss narrowed to Rs 336 crore, but the company remains loss-making.

Why did Ola Electric's share price fall after listing?

After peaking near Rs 157 in August 2024, the stock fell on declining sales, shrinking market share, service and quality complaints, widening losses and regulatory scrutiny over its sales disclosures. As of 27 October 2026 it traded around Rs 35.78, roughly 53% below the IPO price.

What is Ola Electric's market share now?

VAHAN registration data cited in company disclosures put Ola Electric's electric two-wheeler market share at about 12% in FY26, down from around 30% a year earlier, with FY26 registrations down 52% year-on-year.

Conclusion: lessons for investors and entrepreneurs

Ola Electric's journey carries three sharp lessons. First, demand is not the same as delivery — 500,000 bookings in a month meant little once service, quality and registration systems strained. Second, manufacturing scale is a different game from software scale: factories, batteries and dealer networks punish mistakes that code can patch overnight. Third, a great listing is not a verdict — a stock that doubles in a week can still halve from its IPO price within two years if the operating story does not keep up.

Whether Ola Electric's battery-cell bet and service reboot can restore its early lead is the open question of its second act. The first act — from a Rs 1 lakh spin-off valuation to a Rs 40,000 crore listing-day market cap — remains one of the most dramatic arcs in Indian startup history.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Figures are drawn from company filings, exchange data and press reports; market prices change daily.

Read more in this series: Zero to IPO: The Zomato Story, Zero to IPO: The Paytm Story, and Zero to IPO: The Swiggy Story.