NEW DELHI: Ola Electric on Wednesday announced the opening of over 3,200 new stores co-located with service centres across the country to address rising complaints about aftersales service.
This expansion comes as the new-age EV maker faces stiff competition from established players in the electric two-wheeler market.
With this move, Ola Electric’s network has grown to 4,000 stores nationwide, a four-fold rise from its previous footprint. “Today marks a significant milestone in India’s EV journey as we expand our network to every city, town, and taluk. With our newly opened stores co-located with service centres, we have completely redefined EV purchase & ownership experience, setting new benchmarks with our #SavingsWalaScooter campaign,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman & managing director, Ola Electric.
In recent months, Ola Electric and its leadership faced severe criticism from customers over shortcomings in aftersales service for its e-scooters. Complaints included the unavailability of spare parts and inadequate technical expertise among service staff. The situation escalated to the point where the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a show-cause notice to Ola Electric for alleged violations of consumer rights, misleading advertisements, and unfair trade practices.
These issues, coupled with negative publicity, impacted Ola Electric’s sales and market share. According to Vahan data, Ola Electric registered 27,746 e-scooters in November 2024, with a market share of just over 25%, its lowest monthly market share to date. This marked a sharp decline from the 49.8% market share it held in May and 28.6% in September.
Ola’s competitors TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto have been narrowing their sales gap with Ola. TVS recorded 26,036 registrations, accounting for a 23.55% market share in November while Pune-based Bajaj Auto was in the third spot with 24,798 registrations, representing a 22.59% market share.
To boost sales, Ola Electric will be launching one new product every quarter and expanding its company-owned store footprint to 2,000 by March 2025. Ola Electric in August had launched its Roadster motorcycle series with the first product to be delivered in March 2025.
Ola Electric also said on Wednesday that it has rolled out attractive offers with benefits ranging up to `25,000 on the S1 portfolio, exclusively available on December 25, 2024.
Company’s network grows from 800 to 4,000 stores
This expansion comes as the new-age EV maker faces stiff competition from established players in electric two-wheeler market. With this, Ola Electric’s network grew to 4,000 stores, a four-fold rise from its previous footprint. In recent months, Ola Electric and its leadership faced criticism from the customers over shortcomings in aftersales service for its e-scooters.