Hyundai has offloaded its entire 2.47% stake in Ola Electric, while Kia trimmed its holding, cashing out ~$80 million just as Ola’s challenges mount and stock slides.
Hyundai’s shares were sold at ₹50.7 each, and Kia’s at ₹50.5, both at around a 6% discount to the previous close.
Why it matters: back in 2019, Hyundai and Kia had pumped $300 million into Ola Electric, with plans to jointly develop EVs and charging infra.
The stake sale signals that global backers are growing cautious, especially as Ola faces regulatory heat, shrinking margins, and rising competition from established automakers.
The EV startup’s stock is now down 46% since its August 2024 IPO, a tough ride for a company once pitched as India's EV poster child.
Zoom out: for Hyundai, this is part of a bigger realignment. The company is scrambling to deal with US tariffs, forming a task force, and shifting some vehicle production from Mexico to the US.
Hyundai and Kia are the world’s third-largest automakers & these companies rely heavily on US sales, with two-thirds of their US volumes being imports. They’ve announced a $21 billion investment in US operations, including a massive EV factory in Georgia.
The shift from Ola might just be Hyundai choosing to double down at home and ditch what’s no longer core to its global EV game plan.
