SoftBank invests $250m in India's Ola Electric
SoftBank has invested $250 million in Ola Electric, an electric vehicle (EV) company that spun out from Indian ride-hailing platform Ola earlier this year. The new investment reportedly brings Ola Electric’s valuation to over $1 billion.
SoftBank's investment makes the Japanese communications giant Ola Electric's largest shareholder with a stake of about 22%, according to regulatory filings cited by Indian media outlets. Additional backers include Tiger Global Management and Matrix Partners India, which co-led a INR4 billion ($56 million) round for the company earlier this year and are also backers of Ola.
Ola Electric was launched in 2017 to manage a pilot program in Nagpur aimed at introducing electric taxis, rickshaws, and buses to the city, along with installing rooftop solar panels and charging stations while experimenting with battery-swapping systems. The company claims that more than 200 EVs running on Ola's app platforms in the city travelled four million kilometers in 2018. Its manufacturing partners include Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra.
Ola Electric plans to bring one million EVs to India's roads by 2022, in line with the local government's push to move toward a totally electric transportation system in order to improve urban air quality and reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports. The government aims to have only EVs sold in the country by 2030, and has authorized INR100 billion in consumer subsidies and manufacturing incentives to accelerate adoption.
Other companies targeting India's EV space include Ather Energy, a manufacturer of electric scooters and charging infrastructure based in Bangalore. Ather recently received a $51 million commitment from domestic automobile manufacturer Hero MotoCorp and Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal to support a nationwide expansion.
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