[Funding alert] Hero MotoCorp’s Pawan Munjal invests $1M in Ola Electric in Series B round

Pawan Munjal, the Chairman and Managing Director at Hero MotoCorp, has invested about $1 million in Ola Electric. The investment is being made by Munjal via his family trust, joining a growing list of backers for the electric mobility startup which has previously seen Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, invest an undisclosed amount as part of its Series A funding.

According to a regulatory filing accessed by YourStory, Munjal has been allotted 18 Series B preference shares at a premium rate of Rs 39,87,608.54.

Bhavesh Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has also received funding from SoftBank, which invested $250 million in July 2019, helping the startup reach the coveted unicorn status (valuation of more than $1 billion). Further, South Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia Motors have backed Ola Electric with $350 million in funding.

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Pawan Munjal, via Hero MotoCorp, had earlier invested in electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy which retails the Ather 450 and 450X electric scooters in the country.

Earlier, in February 2020, Uber, the key rival to Ola Electric’s parent company, had announced that it will increase its electric vehicle fleet by more than 4X by the end of 2020.

The Indian government has an ambitious aim to electrify all new vehicles by the end of 2030, in an attempt to reduce India’s import bills.

Founded in 2017, Ola Electric is working with vehicle and battery manufacturers, cities, driver-partners, and mobility ecosystems to make electric mobility convenient and affordable. It aims to bring one million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2022.

In November 2019, it tied up with BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) to bring charging stations to New Delhi, making an effort to drive growth across India’s EV ecosystem.

During the last financial year, more than 7.50 lakh electric vehicles were sold in India, a majority of these were electric three-wheelers (6.30 lakh units).

(Edited by Suman Singh)