Ola Electric sees its lowest monthly volume in 2024 in September; market share drops to 27%

Ola Electric’s sales dropped for the second straight month as the company sold fewer scooters in September while major players such as Ather Energy, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto saw their monthly sales volume rise from August. 

Ola Electric sold 23,965 units in September compared with 26,928 units in August, marking an 11% decrease. The company, currently the market leader in the EV two-wheeler segment, also saw its market share dropping to around 27%, according to data from Vahan. 

The company’s market share has been steadily declining for the past three months, the data showed. 

Ola Electric saw its highest monthly sales volume in March, with 52,136 units sold. The rise in sales coincided with the conclusion of the Indian government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme on March 31.

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The monthly volume fell to 33,367 in April, and continued to decline except in July when its monthly volume rose to 40,814 units. Meanwhile, according to the portal’s data, Ola Electric’s competitor, IPO-bound Ather, saw a 15% rise in total units sold to 12,579 in September, marking an increase for the sixth consecutive month. 

According to a report by Mint, Ola Electric receives 80,000 complaints every month concerning its vehicles. Last month, a disgruntled customer allegedly set fire to an Ola Electric showroom in Kalaburagi, Karnataka after his scooter was not repaired. 

In light of these events, Ola Electric is reported to have created a new service team consisting of employees from various divisions. In September, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company also introduced a 'Network Partner Programme' and intends to onboard 10,000 partners by the end of 2025 to expand its sales and service network across the country, said the company in a statement.

Currently, Ola Electric operates nearly 800 company-owned stores. With the addition of its network partners, it expects to have 1,800 sales and service touchpoints in place by the festive season.

The company’s share price dipped below the Rs 100 mark on Monday and was down 2.59% at Rs 99.55 on BSE, a sharp decline from its record high of Rs 157.53 on August 20. It recovered some ground on Tuesday when its share price rose 3.01% on the NSE.

(Disclaimer: Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, is an independent director in Ola Electric.)