India’s biggest electric scooter maker Ola Electric posted its lowest monthly sales this year in September, government data showed, as the SoftBank-backed company saw its dominance eroded by smaller rivals and challenges in servicing the network.
Ola Electric, which made its public debut about two months ago, sold 23,965 vehicles in September, recording a month-on-month decline for the second straight month.
The month-on-month drop in sales saw market share fall for five consecutive months to 27 percent in September, from over 50 percent in April, the data show.
During that period, Ola’s closest competitors TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto narrowed the gap, registering growth in market share for five and three months in a row, respectively.
Ola Electric declined to comment on the loss of market share and its service network.
Slowing sales at Ola, whose prices have often undercut the market, pose further challenges to the company’s financial results. They are yet to make a profit.
Analysts attribute Ola’s shrinking advantage to competitors launching newer models at prices closer to Ola’s, as well as its own strained service network, which is causing the scooters to pile up.
Strengthening dealer networks was also key for Bajaj and TVS in the Oli challenge, according to Jay Kale of Elara Capital.
Over the past year, Bajaj has increased the number of outlets for its Chetak e-scooters from around 100 to more than 500, as of June. The number of Ola dealerships increased from 750 to 800.
Last month, a 26-year-old man was arrested for allegedly setting fire to an Ola showroom in the southern state of Karnataka due to unsatisfactory servicing of a recently purchased e-scooter.
HSBC analysts said in a note last month that Ola’s service would be one of the “key drivers” for maintaining its market share.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)