Ola Fleet Technologies Pvt., Ltd., has secured a loan of Rs. 1000 crores from India’s fifth largest private sector bank, Yes Bank to expand its consumer vehicles fleet. Ola Fleet Technologies is Ola’s cab leasing business arm.
According to documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ola Fleet secured the Rs. 1000 crores loan through a hypothecation deed agreement with Yes Bank on 21 March. This loan will be used by the company to finance the purchase of commercial vehicles that are used by its driver partners. But, these vehicles will remain as collateral with the bank beside the spares and consumables.
The loan will be based on lease agreements between Ola and its partner drivers while the loan period as mentioned in the agreement will be 48-60 months. The documents reveal the Ola Fleet is eligible to avail this facility till November 30, 2017. After this period is completed, Yes Bank will take a decision on extending the facility on December 4, 2017.
This marks the second time Ola Fleet will secure a loan from Yes Bank, having secured a loan of Rs. 250 crores in 2016. Prior to that, Ola has also taken loans of Rs. 300 crores from Axis Bank, Rs. 200 crores from HDFC Bank and Rs. 100 crores from ICICI Bank over the past one year.
The company launched the leasing program in 2015 and pumped Rs. 50 crores into the subsidiary earlier this year. Ola also said they would invest Rs. 5000 crores in the program during its launch. The program lets Ola’s partner drivers own the vehicles after they make an initial deposit and then pay monthly installments for a period of three to five years, depending on the make and model.
The former managing director of SABMiller India, Shalabh Seth was named as the CEO of Ola Fleet Technologies in January 2017. The company also received Rs. 100 crores from its parent company which operates Ola, ANI Technologies Pvt., Ltd. Ola Fleet posted net sales of Rs. 5.6 crores for the financial year 2015- 2016, while its total expenses increased from Rs. 8.1 crores to Rs. 11.7 crores.