Ola Electric Regains Market Share As Discounts Prop Up Sales

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. clocked its highest monthly sales so far this fiscal as discounts propped up sales amid a myriad challenges.

Retail sales of India’s largest electric two-wheeler rose 68% over the previous month to 41,605 units in October 2024, as against 24,710 units in September, according to vehicle registration data on the VAHAN portal.

That translated into a market share of 30% as of Nov. 1.

Rivals Bajaj Auto Ltd., TVS Motor Co. Ltd., Ather Energy Ltd., and Hero MotoCorp. Ltd. also saw their monthly sales surge in what is a growing market. According to VAHAN and SMEV data, retail sales of electric two-wheelers rose 53.98% month-on-month to 1,39,031 units in October—the highest since March when the FAME-II EV subsidy scheme expired. Annually, the volumes were up 85%.

The surge in Ola Electric’s sales in October follows two straight months of declines and a cacophony over its broken after-sales experience that’s only grown louder. The government has issued a show-cause notice over customer complaints and ordered an audit into the machinations of the Bengaluru-based EV maker. A spat between the company’s founder and a stand-up comedian simply stirred the pot further.

Against that backdrop, Ola Electric launched deep discounts to prop up volumes during the crucial festive season, including retailing an electric scooter at Rs 50,000—much below the price at which a subsidy was claimed. The company said this was a limited run only.