Ola Electric is a company we’ve talked about quite a bit over the years. And despite holding operations solely in India, at least for now, the company has managed to propel itself into the global spotlight simply because of how quickly it has grown.
It all started with the S1 electric scooter, an EV two-wheeler designed to make electric mobility accessible to the masses. Not long after, the company expanded to more iterations of the S1 scooter, as well unveiling a bunch of EV motorcycle concepts to broaden its audience.
What made Ola Electric so special was how it was able to make its products so accessible. For instance, the S1 scooter could be purchased for the equivalent of around $2,000 USD. And so, for the price of a budget scooter, folks could buy a premium-looking and premium-feeling machine complete with futuristic styling and tons of tech.
But it hasn’t all been good news for Ola. You see, the company recently experienced some backlash from disappointed customers, citing poor after-sales service, the unavailability of parts, and general dissatisfaction with its services. Heck, the company even had one of its showrooms burned down, only for angry netizens to burn it further on social media. So yeah, definitely not a flawless track record for Ola, but now, it’s trying its best to make good on its promise of improved customer service.
And it’s not just making promises and leaving it all up to chance, either. You see, Ola Electric has increased its dealer network by a whopping 3,200 showrooms. That’s right, with around 4,000 sales and service touch points across India, Ola Electric has increased its presence by a whopping 400 percent. That’s pretty crazy, and perhaps a little bit excessive.
Ola Electric’s goal is not only to improve its image to its customers and potential clients, but become a household name in India’s mobility sector. Clearly, in order to do this, it needs to make itself even more accessible to the masses, not just from a sales perspective, but from a repair and maintenance standpoint, too. Seeing that this was what actually caused the backlash to the brand not too long ago, it’s clearly in the company’s best interest to make sure all its customers’ needs are met.
But will opening 3,200 new showrooms actually bring about a bigger problem than it’s already facing? As you probably noticed, the environment surrounding electric vehicles has changed quite a lot very recently. All of a sudden, EVs aren’t the shining beacons of sustainable mobility they used to be. And proof of this is the slashing of incentives and subsidies on new electric vehicles in many places all over the world. Heck, some places are even slapping taxes never before heard of on EVs.
So, is Ola Electric on the road to recovery and on its way to becoming bigger and stronger than it ever was? At this point, it’s pretty much impossible to tell. It clearly invested hundreds of millions if not billions of rupees on its new showrooms, and this massive amount of money spent can very truly be a double-edged sword. It could pay them back tenfold, assuming accessibility—and ultimately, trust—is restored. Or it could cause a massive oversupply of two-wheelers laying around unsold; the result of hubris and the inability to read the market.
Sources: Business Standard, BikeWale
