SoftBank Sells Another 2.15% Stake In Ola Electric

SoftBank, via SVF II Ostrich (DE) LLC, effectively reduced its stake in the EV maker to 13.53% from 15.68% over the four month period

This follows the investment firm offloading another 2.15% stake, or 9.4 Cr equity shares, in the OEM between July and September 2025

The sell off comes as Ola Electric continues to grapple with regulatory scrutiny, intensifying competition in the E2W market, revenue contraction, heavy losses, and rising complaints

Japanese tech investor SoftBank Group sold 9.46 Cr shares, or 2.15% stake, in electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric via a series of open market transactions between September 3, 2025 and January 5 this year.

As per BSE data, the investment firm, via SVF II Ostrich (DE) LLC, effectively reduced its stake in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to 13.53% from 15.68% over the four month period.

The disclosure was triggered on January 5 after the final sale of 84 Lakh shares by SoftBank breached the 2% regulatory threshold mandated by SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations.

The divestment marks the second significant stake reduction by SoftBank in the EV maker in the past six months. The investor previously offloaded another 2.15% stake, or 9.4 Cr equity shares, in the company between July and September 2025.

SoftBank is the second-largest shareholder in the Bengaluru-based EV maker, after founder Bhavish Aggarwal.

The development comes amid a spell of stake sales by Ola Electric’s backers. In December last year, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India) reportedly fully exited the company. Prior to this, Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Ventures also dumped their stakes in the EV maker over the past year.

Strategic investors Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation also pared their holdings in June 2025, partially selling their stakes for INR 552 Cr and INR 137 Cr, respectively. More recently, founder Aggarwal sold 9.6 Cr shares for INR 324 Cr to repay a promoter-level loan.

The sell off comes as Ola Electric continues to grapple with regulatory scrutiny, intensifying competition in the electric two-wheeler (E2W) market and shoddy after-sales service. Making matters worse have been revenue contraction, heavy losses, product delays, strategic zigzags and intellectual property (IP) disputes.

On the financial front, the startup’s net losses narrowed over 15% to INR 418 Cr in Q2 FY26 from INR 495 Cr in the year-ago quarter. However, revenue also declined 43% YoY to INR 690 Cr.

As a result, the company’s market share in the E2W segment fell to 16.1% in 2025 from 36.7% in the previous year, as legacy giants like TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto raced ahead.

On top of this, the EV giant’s stock price has been on a downward spiral. Ola Electric’s shares hit an all-time low of Rs 30.79 on December 18.

To address these issues, the company launched its first Hyperservice Centre in Bengaluru late last year, with plans to expand it pan-India over the coming weeks. Ola Electric is also banking on the mass rollout of vehicles powered by its in-house manufactured 4680 Bharat Cell battery pack to accrue margins and create scale.

Shares of Ola Electric closed Friday’s trading session 2.42% lower at INR 39.49 on the BSE.