Ola Electric appears to have overcome its teething troubles that were marked by things like delay in deliveries, product issues, etc
Having invested Rs 2,400 crore in building the largest EV manufacturing facility in the country, Ola Electric had set big targets in terms of production volumes and sales. The response has been phenomenal, with Ola claiming bookings worth around Rs 1,100 crore in just two days. This was last year in September, when the company had opened bookings for the first time.
However, things were not going as smoothly as desired when it came to deliveries. Likely due to shortage of components, Ola Electric had to reschedule delivery timelines for its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters. Customers were naturally not happy, as they had high expectations from the company. Moreover, several customers had reported issues with their Ola scooters.
Production streamlined
Since the start of 2022, Ola Electric has worked to boost production and expedite deliveries. In January, Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had said that production has been increased to almost 1,000 scooters per day. Evidence to that can be seen in February electric two-wheeler numbers, where Ola has posted sales of 3,905 units.
With that, Ola has entered the top five list of best selling electric two-wheelers in the country. It is placed at 4th place, ahead of Ather Energy, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto. MoM growth is 254%, as compared to 1102 units sold in January 2022.
Providing more details about February sales, Bhavish has stated that Ola has actually delivered around 7,000 units in the month. He said that the mismatch in Vahan data is likely due to their direct-to-consumer (D2C) business model. The company does a lot of temp registrations, which are currently not counted on Vahan. This may change in future, as systems are updated to accommodate sales through the D2C model.
15k deliveries expected in March
According to Bhavish, Ola electric scooter deliveries are expected to touch 15k this month. If that turns out to be true, Ola Electric will emerge as the No 1 electric two-wheeler company in India in terms of sales. It will be a significant achievement, especially considering the fact that only around five months have passed since bookings opened.
Companies that are currently ahead of Ola are Hero Electric, Okinawa and Ampere. Hero Electric leads the pack, commanding market share of around 30%. In February, Hero Electric had registered sales of 7,357 units. The company has partnered with Mahindra to boost production of its electric scooters.
Electric two-wheelers are expected to witness increased demand in coming months. One key reason is fuel prices, which are likely to increase substantially. Crude oil prices have touched 14-year high and may rise further. Petrol prices may increase by as much as Rs 15 in coming days. This may prompt many users to switch to electric.
