🧾 At a Glance
India’s largest EV 2-wheeler brand is also now officially the largest incinerator of investor wealth in FY25. With a ₹2,276 Cr net loss, -107% ROE, -114% margins, and an IPO that aged like milk, Ola Electric is giving the phrase “burning rubber” a whole new meaning. Let’s see what else they could’ve done with all that cash—besides lighting it on fire.
1. 👋 Intro with Hook
Let’s get one thing straight:
Ola Electric isn’t a startup anymore. It’s a money blender on turbo mode.
After finally listing at ₹40 (down 75% from its IPO peak of ₹158), Bhavish Aggarwal’s EV dream now runs not on lithium, but hopium and Bluetooth errors.
But wait, we’re not here to simply mock. We’re here to analyse just how epically ₹2,276 Cr vanished in a single year — and what India could’ve done with that money instead:
- Built 23 new IITs
- Gifted 5.5 lakh Ola S1s for free
- Or, just bought Bhutan and added a “Hypercharger” in Thimphu
2. 🧳 WTF Do They Even Do?
Ola Electric makes:
- 🛵 Electric Scooters (S1, S1 Air, S1 Pro)
- 🔋 Battery Packs (in-house)
- 🏭 Motors + Frames (FutureFactory in Tamil Nadu)
- 🤖 Claims to be building EV cars, batteries, and software (MoveOS 5 just dropped)
Basically, they’re trying to be Tesla, Android and Ather rolled into one. So far, it’s mostly just PowerPoint meets Paytm Energy.
3. 💸 Financials – More Losses Than Logic
| FY | Revenue (₹ Cr) | Net Profit (₹ Cr) | OPM | ROCE | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY21 | ₹1 | -₹199 | -32,228% 🤯 | NA | NA |
| FY22 | ₹373 | -₹784 | -214% | -24% | NA |
| FY23 | ₹2,631 | -₹1,472 | -48% | -30% | NA |
| FY24 | ₹5,010 | -₹1,584 | -25% | -32% | NA |
| FY25 | ₹4,514 | -₹2,276 | -39% | -28% | -107% 🚨 |
So not only did revenue fall 10%, losses widened. The dream is now powered by negative margins and memes.
4. 🤕 Valuation – IPO Hangover Edition
- Market Cap: ₹17,600 Cr
- P/B: 3.43x (because “E” is negative, so forget P/E)
- Book Value: ₹11.7
- Current Price: ₹40
Fair Value Range (lol):
Even if Ola turns EBITDA-positive by FY28 (optimistically), our back-of-napkin DCF gives an FV range of ₹20–₹35. So yes, it’s still overpriced… unless your valuation model includes “Twitter virality”.
5. 🔥 What’s Cooking – Software Updates and Sizzle
- MoveOS 5 launched – over-the-air update with 50+ new features (including…working indicators this time?)
- Hypercharger rollout stalled – adoption still low
- Ola Car delayed – Bhavish said 2024, now looks like 2026 if at all
- Battery plant under construction – promises of vertical integration, but currently outsourced
This is classic startup theatre: launch software → throw party → post render of new car → raise funds → repeat.
6. 🧾 P&L Breakdown – The ₹2,276 Cr Bonfire
| Line Item | FY25 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹4,514 Cr |
| COGS + Expenses | ₹6,253 Cr |
| Operating Loss | ₹1,739 Cr |
| Other Income | ₹395 Cr (probably angel prayers) |
| Interest | ₹366 Cr |
| Depreciation | ₹566 Cr |
| Net Loss | ₹2,276 Cr |
OPM: -39%
Even Flipkart wasn’t this loss-making during peak burn. Zomato looked profitable in comparison.
7. 🧾 Balance Sheet – More Liabilities Than Scooters
| Metric | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | ₹1,955 Cr | ₹4,411 Cr (fresh infusion before IPO) |
| Reserves | -₹2,909 Cr | ₹732 Cr |
| Borrowings | ₹5,684 Cr | ₹3,556 Cr (declined, good!) |
| Fixed Assets | ₹2,491 Cr | ₹3,602 Cr |
Despite raising money, Ola’s equity erosion is historic. It was negative reserves last year. They only came out of ICU thanks to IPO cash.
8. 💀 Cash Flow – LOL What’s That?
| FY | CFO (₹ Cr) | CFI (₹ Cr) | CFF (₹ Cr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY24 | -₹633 | -₹1,136 | ₹1,590 |
| FY25 | -₹2,391 | -₹2,864 | ₹5,429 |
So in FY25, Ola burnt ₹5,255 Cr from operations + capex… and needed a ₹5,400 Cr funding IV drip just to stay alive. This is not cash flow. This is EV hospice care.
9. 🧮 Ratios – Nothing Works
| Metric | FY25 |
|---|---|
| ROE | -107% 💀 |
| ROCE | -28% |
| Working Capital Days | 90 (up from 40) |
| Inventory Days | 77 |
| Debtor Days | 1 (lol, full advance payment!) |
So you’re selling scooters on full advance (great!), but still losing ₹2,000+ Cr. That’s like taking pre-orders for a space shuttle and still going bankrupt.
10. 🧘 Peer Comparison – The Adults in the Room
| Company | Revenue | Net Profit | ROE | OPM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Auto | ₹51,000 Cr | ₹7,324 Cr | 22.8% | 18.7% |
| Hero MotoCorp | ₹40,900 Cr | ₹4,375 Cr | 23.6% | 14.1% |
| Ather Energy | ₹2,255 Cr | -₹812 Cr | -156.5% | -25.7% |
| Ola Electric | ₹4,514 Cr | -₹2,276 Cr | -107.6% | -39.0% |
Bajaj prints money. Hero sells motorcycles. Ola sells dreams and an app update every quarter.
11. 📉 Shareholding – Retail Holding the Bag
| Category | Mar 2025 |
|---|---|
| Promoters | 36.78% |
| FIIs | 2.89% (dipped!) |
| DIIs | 2.93% |
| Public | 52.14% ← that’s retail bloodbath |
Shareholders jumped in at ₹100–₹150. It’s now ₹40. Everyone’s scooter is now EMI + equity losses.
12. 🧑⚖️ EduInvesting Verdict™
Ola’s not a bad company. It’s just a bad business model right now.
✅ Solid market share (31% of E2W sales in India)
✅ Integrated manufacturing plan
✅ Ambitious EV roadmap
🚫 Negative cash flows since birth
🚫 Massive operating losses
🚫 Hopium-led valuations
And worst of all: they’re losing money even while being market leaders. This isn’t disruption. This is financial combustion.
🎯 Fair Value Range: ₹20 – ₹35
(Assuming profit breakeven by FY28 and heroic margin recovery)
✍️ Written by Prashant | 📅 10 July 2025
Tags: Ola Electric, EV Stocks India, Startup Losses, Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola S1 Review, MoveOS 5, Electric Scooter Market, Ola vs Ather, FY25 Financials, Burn Rate Stocks
