EV major Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal has pledged his shares to raise debt funds for its AI startup, Krutrim.
The founder has committed 4.83 crore shares, representing 1.10 percent of Ola Electric’s equity or 3.65 percent of his total shareholding. Previously, he held 132.39 crore shares, which accounts for 30.02 percent of the company.
According to an exchange filing, Aggarwal entered into a non-disposal agreement with Axis Trustee and Krutrim Data Center Private Limited on November 23 to secure debentures issued by Krutrim SI Designs.
Aggressive store expansion plans
Ola Electric has also announced plans to open 3200 new stores by December 20, 2024. At present, the company operates 800 stores.
Commenting on the expansion, Aggarwal said, “We are looking to cover the entire country beyond tier-I and tier-2 cities. It will enable our best-in-class product offerings to democratise electric mobility, adding buoyancy to the domestic EV economy.”
Previously, the company had announced plans to expand the store count to 2000 by March 2025. With the new announcement, the company is doubling down on the rollout plan to accelerate EV adoption in large hinterland markets, the mainstay of two-wheeler sales, said the company.
The company recorded registrations of 27,746 units at 25.09 percent market share in November compared to 41,756 units in October, according to data from vehicle portal Vahan. Ola Electric has sold 392,176 vehicles on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, securing a 37 percent share of the market.
The shares of Ola Electric closed at Rs ₹93.26, up by 6.68 percent on the BSE.