Invest in EVs or face your shareholders' wrath: Bhavish Aggarwal to industry giants

In a strong message to industry leaders, Bhavish Aggarwal, the founder of Ola, emphasized the crucial importance of investing in electric vehicles (EVs) to ensure long-term shareholder value. Speaking to Business Today TV, Aggarwal made it clear that companies that fail to embrace the shift towards investing in EVs will be held accountable from their shareholders.

"Look, whether these established players eat Oats, skip meals, fast, or do whatever they want—it’s up to them. But if they don't invest in EVs, their shareholders will hold them highly accountable in the future. So, my message to them is: if you don’t build EVs, your shareholders won’t spare you down the line," Aggarwal stated.

In October 2021, when Rajiv Bajaj, Bajaj Auto MD was launching the new Pulsar 250 he said, “We are champions… Champions eat OATS.” By OATS, he meant Ola Electric, Ather Energy, Tork Motors and SmartE — the emerging new-gen EV startups. 

Aggarwal further highlighted that Ola Electric's Automotive business is very close to EBITDA neutral and is continuing to improve margins as the business scales, signaling the company’s commitment to driving profitable growth.

"Profitability is an important journey for us, and we are focused on driving profitable growth. We have a few key strategies that will enable this, and with the enhancement of cell production, we expect to see even greater margins," Aggarwal explained.

Aggarwal further said that the government's support through initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and the cell manufacturing scheme, which have significantly bolstered the EV sector. "The government has done more than enough for EV encouragement; it’s up to the industry to continue to innovate and improve cost structures," he added.

Ola Electric’s shares soared by 8% on Tuesday, reaching a fresh high of ₹157.53 on the BSE. In just 7 trading sessions, the EV stock has risen 107% from its IPO issue price of ₹76 to a valuation that exceeds that of Elon Musk’s Wall Street-listed Tesla.