Ola Electric to install 10,000 fast chargers by April, offer battery warranty for 8 years

IPO-bound Ola Electric will install a total of 10,000 fast charging points across the country by April 2024, including 1,000 installed at present, as well as provide an eight-year warranty for its battery.

In a major push to "end ICE age"—referring to internal combustion engines, or ICE—CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said Ola Electric's new battery warranty policy will ensure the vehicle has resale value even after the battery nears the end of its lifecycle, which is typically between three and fours years.

The most expensive element in an electric vehicle is its battery, constituting 40% of the overall cost. This has raised significant apprehension among buyers about the potential depreciation in resale value when the batteries reach the end of their usable life.

However, Aggarwal says that he's confident that the warranty will extend the lifespan of Ola Electric scooters by 2X versus ICE vehicles.

"We can do this because we're building our own cells," he added.

Customers will receive the extended warranty without incurring any additional charges. Add-on warranties to cover more kilometres travelled will also be available to users for an extra charge.

Ola Electric will expand its service network to 600 centres, from 414, by April 2024.

In December, the company filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, intending to issue shares worth Rs 5,500 crore. Additionally, there is a proposed offer for the sale of 95.2 million equity shares at a face value of Rs 10.

Ola Electric plans to allot Rs 1,600 crore for R&D while Rs 1,226.4 crore will be used by subsidiary Ola Cell Technologies for the construction of the Ola Gigafactory project, said the company.

(Disclaimer: YourStory's CEO and Founder Shradha Sharma is on the board of Ola Electric.)