Ola's battery cell ambition has run into choppy waters

The company's capacity expansion is behind schedule, exposing it to risks of higher costs

- Ayaan Kartik

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd was betting on its gigafactory to shun dependence on Chinese cells for its batteries. But its capacity expansion is behind schedule, exposing it to risks of higher costs, loss of government incentives and even technology going obsolete.

Ola Cell Technologies Private Ltd (OCT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ola Electric Ltd, began constructing its gigafactory in May 2023 in four phases to produce lithium-ion cells for electric vehicle batteries.

Of ₹15,500 crore the company raised by issuing fresh shares in August 2024, it had set aside ₹1,227 crore to expand the capacity of its facility to 6.4 GWh in the second phase by April 2025.

However, it has not utilized any money from these funds, said Icra Ltd, the monitoring agency of its public issue, in its 15 May report that Ola Electric shared with exchanges. That suggests OCT is far behind the previously disclosed timeline to investors.