IPO-bound Ola Electric to employ 25,000 people in Tamil Nadu plant

Ola Electric Tamil Nadu: Ola Electric CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, said that the upcoming EV hub in Tamil Nadu will boast a workforce of 25,000 people once fully operational. Bhavish Aggarwal was speaking at the Tamil Nadu Global Investor Meet (GIM) on January 7, 2024. The 2,000-acre EV hub, operational from next month, is expected to become an employment epicentre, engaging a workforce of around 25,000 individuals.

Aggarwal expressed pride in setting up one of India's largest two-wheeler manufacturing facilities, named the "Future Factory," within just eight months in Tamil Nadu. The facility boasts a full-scale capacity of approximately 100 GwH and aims to produce around 10 million two-wheeler units annually.

Not just manufacturing

The CEO emphasised that the EV hub would not only focus on manufacturing but also integrate a vendor and supplier network, making it a comprehensive ecosystem for electric vehicles. Bhavish Aggarwal highlighted the significance of the hub, stating, "At full scale, our EV hub will have a 25,000-strong workforce, and together we will make Tamil Nadu and India the global epicentre for EVs."

The EV hub's rapid setup and production readiness were acknowledged by Aggarwal, who attributed this achievement to the conducive environment in India and specifically Tamil Nadu.

Ola Electric IPO

This development comes even as Ola Electric's IPO plans are gathering momentum. The company recently filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a substantial initial public offering. The IPO is anticipated to include a fresh issue of equity shares amounting to Rs 5,500 crore and an offer for sale featuring 95.2 million equity shares at a face value of Rs 10.

Bhavish Aggarwal, as the founder and CEO, emerges as the single-biggest shareholder in Ola Electric, owning 36.94 per cent pre-offer equity share capital in the company on a fully diluted basis. Major institutional investors, including SoftBank, Tiger Global, and others, also play significant roles in the shareholding structure.

Despite challenges, such as high employee attrition, Ola Electric remains well-positioned in the Indian EV market. The company's extensive omnichannel distribution network and healthy growth in two-wheeler registrations, coupled with the upcoming EV hub's employment prospects, contribute to the anticipation surrounding Ola Electric's IPO. The DRHP filing sets the stage for regulatory approval and positions Ola Electric as one of the eagerly awaited new-age tech IPOs in the upcoming year.