Ola Electric Expands Bharat Cell Sales to Startups and Enterprises

Ola Electric is pushing its ambitions well beyond electric scooters. The EV maker has opened its in-house 4680 Bharat Cell platform to enterprise customers, positioning its battery technology as a foundational layer for sectors ranging from energy and healthcare to defence, robotics, and industrial mobility.

The move signals a strategic pivot: Ola is no longer treating batteries as just an internal component for vehicles but as a standalone enterprise product designed to serve India’s broader electrification needs.

“Today, we took an important step by laying a new energy foundation for India,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Ola Electric, in a post on X. “We are now opening this platform up. Not just to large enterprises but also to startups, innovators, and builders who want to create advanced products on a strong and reliable energy foundation.”

What Ola Is Offering Enterprises

Under the expanded program, companies can directly purchase:

• 4680 Bharat Cell

• 1.5 kWh battery packs

These can be integrated into a wide range of applications, including:

• Electric mobility platforms

• Drones and robotics

• Medical and portable healthcare equipment

• Industrial and energy storage systems

Ola said the offering is aimed at accelerating domestic battery adoption while reducing India’s dependence on imported cells across critical industries.

For startups and enterprises building hardware-led products, the pitch is straightforward: access to locally manufactured battery technology without having to invest in complex cell development or supply chains.

The timing is telling. Ola Electric is navigating a challenging phase marked by slowing EV demand, reduced government subsidies, rising competition from established two-wheeler OEMs, and ongoing scrutiny around after-sales service.

Vehicle registrations declined over 51% year-on-year to 1.99 lakh units in 2025, while market share fell to just over 15%, down sharply from 35.5% in 2014. Against this backdrop, enterprise battery sales offer Ola a way to diversify revenue streams and improve utilisation of its Gigafactory capacity.

This is less about chasing volume in scooters and more about monetising energy infrastructure at scale.

Gigafactory Scale and Product Rollout

Ola’s battery ambitions rest on its Gigafactory, which currently has:

• 2.5 GWh of cell manufacturing capacity

The company has already begun shipping vehicles powered by its in-house cells:

• S1 Pro+ electric scooter, featuring the 4680 Bharat Cell and a claimed range of up to 320 km

• Roadster X+ electric motorcycle is equipped with a 9.1 kWh battery pack and a claimed 500 km range

Beyond mobility, Ola has also entered residential energy storage with Ola Shakti, targeting homes looking for simplified power backup solutions.

Deliveries for:

Shakti 6kW / 9.1kWh begins at the end of January 2026, priced at ₹2,49,999

Shakti 3kW / 5.2kWh begin mid-February 2026, priced at ₹1,49,999

Aggarwal said Shakti is designed to remove complexity from home energy systems as rooftop solar adoption and power reliability concerns rise across India.

B2B Batteries as a Long-Term Bet

Ola has also indicated plans to enter the commercial battery energy storage market, betting that enterprise demand from both Ola Shakti and third-party buyers will drive sustained cell volumes.

To support this, the company plans to scale manufacturing capacity to:

• 5.9 GWh by March 2026

• 20 GWh by the second half of 2027

The strategy mirrors a broader shift underway in India’s EV ecosystem, where battery makers are increasingly targeting cross-sector energy use cases rather than relying solely on vehicle sales.

Financial Reality Check

On the financial front, Ola Electric reported:

• A 15% YoY reduction in losses to ₹418 crore in Q2 FY26

• A 43% drop in operating revenue to ₹690 crore

Investor sentiment remains cautious. Ola Electric’s shares have fallen over 47% in the past 12 months, closing at ₹38.6 on the BSE, down 0.92% in the latest session.

By opening its battery platform to enterprises, Ola Electric is effectively reframing itself from an EV manufacturer to an energy technology supplier.

Whether this bet pays off will depend on execution, reliability, and the company’s ability to win trust beyond consumer vehicles. But one thing is clear: Ola is betting that in India’s next phase of electrification, batteries, not scooters, could be the real platform business.