KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Deliveries of the Ola S1 Z and Gig scooters have been halted for an undisclosed period.
- The company is putting all its focus on the Roadster X Series.
- Bajaj and TVS two-wheelers are eating into Ola's market share.
After Ola started the delivery process of the Roadster X Series on 31st May, Bhavish Aggarwal has halted the deliveries of their affordable Ola S1 Z and its first B2B-oriented electric scooter - Gig, till an undisclosed time. According to reports, the reason cited for this step is that - the company is giving 100% focus to the Roadster Series - streaming cost structures and achieving higher sales numbers in the current and upcoming quarters. In a nutshell, improving the sales after after-sales experience at each store level. For more such updates, make sure to join 91Wheels WhatsApp Channel to never miss out on automotive updates.
Also Read: Ola Roadster X Deliveries Start - Free Extended Warranty For First 5000
Ola Plans
CEO of Ola - Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal told investors - We are delaying the S1 Z, Gig/Gig+ and some other future products and will sequentially launch these products such that each product receives the right customer mindshare." To add more, Ola launched the Gig in two variants last November and announced the most affordable S1 Z - specially designed for budget-conscious buyers who want a vehicle only for daily commutes.
The deliveries were originally scheduled for April-May 2025, but now customers are left waiting indefinitely. The core reason behind this delay is the Roadster X - which itself faced a two-month delay before finally beginning deliveries on May 31st. Clearly, Ola is being extra cautious now and putting every effort to ensure that mistakes don't repeat - like with the Ola S1 series. Another major reason for this move is Ola's declining market share. Bajaj Auto, with its Chetak Electric, has now become India's No.1 electric scooter brand, while TVS has also seen massive growth with the iQube.
Ola plans to bounce back stronger with the Roadster X series and that's why all the future projects are stopped. Our focus now is to increase productivity, sales productivity as well as sales per store of these stores that we have opened up. That is the focus for this quarter, as well as for the next couple of quarters. And this becomes increasingly relevant with our bike [Roadster] coming into the markets, Ola Big Boss said.
Roadster X
The prices of the Roadster X series start at Rs 99,999, Rs 1,09,999 and Rs 1,24,999 for the Roadster X 2.5kWh, 3.5kWh, and 4.5 kWh, respectively. Roadster X+ 4.5kWh is priced at Rs 1,29,999, while the Roadster X+ 9.1kWh (with 4680 Bharat Cell) that offers an unrivalled range of 501 km/charge, is priced at Rs 1,99,999. Features highlights are - All LED lamp, front disc brakes, ABS, 4.3 Inch LCD display, underseat storage, cruise control and easy park.
Also Read: Yamaha Launches 5-Year Road Side Assistance Program At Rs 975
Source - Autocar India
Verdict
Ola Electric's market share has dropped significantly, and the news buff knows the reason. S1 has collected a lot of negativity because of their un-reliability issues, and a very bad response from Ola sales staff. A lot of bad publicity has already happened, and now the company is showing signs that they're ready to bounce back and have worked a lot of improving in making their products reliable. Let's see, whether the Roadster Series is hit or not.
