Ola Electric opens 3,200 stores amid year of consumer complaint woes – Newz9

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. introduced opening of 3,200 new stores in a single day, as India’s greatest e-scooter maker seeks to broaden its native footprint and deal with buyer frustration associated to shortcomings in service.
The Bengaluru-based Ola Electric has elevated the quantity of showrooms and repair facilities to 4,000, Ankush Aggarwal, group head of monetary companies and retail auto enterprise, mentioned at a fair on Wednesday.
The firm, led by co-founder Bhavish Aggarwalis trying to penetrate India’s small cities in addition to bolster its after-gross sales service. “By leveraging its direct-to-consumer (D2C) model, Ola is ensuring that EV ownership becomes a reality for every household,” the corporate mentioned in an trade submitting final week.
Ola Electric’s single-day retailer launch blitz marks its makes an attempt to revive its market share and status after a tumultuous year marked by a blockbuster itemizing in August adopted by an onslaught of consumer complaints regulatory scrutiny and a heated spat between its chairman and a stand-up comic.

Almost each Indian city, metropolis and district would have an Ola Electric retailer and a service heart, its Chairman Bhavish Aggarwal mentioned in a Dec. 19 video posted on X. The milestone was initially anticipated on Dec 20 however later pushed to Dec 25.
The large rollout comes a pair of months after it received slammed by service and efficiency-linked buyer complaints. A month-to-month runrate of 80,000 such complaints had been overwhelming its service centres, in line with native media reviews.
Videos and images of malfunctioning Ola Scooters circulating on social media whereas Aggarwal had a social media altercation with an Indian comic, who criticized the corporate’s flagship mannequin.
Reputational Turnaround
“Their service network is an area the company is trying to address” because it scripts a reputational turnaround, Jinesh Gandhi, analyst at Ambit Capital Pvt., informed Bloomberg News.
India’s heavy business ministry ordered an audit of the agency’s servicing hubs in October, Reuters reported, and the Central Consumer Protection Authority served a discover in October over alleged violation of buyer rights, deceptive advertisements and unfair commerce practices.
This has led to market share loss for the sector chief — it dropped to 24.5% in November versus 32.6% in the identical month final year. Ola Electric shares are actually buying and selling about 40% decrease from their peak in August after the robust itemizing.
The retailer growth plans may assist raise its market share that’s underneath strain from rival automakers resembling Bajaj Auto Ltdand TVS Motor Co,
Though Ola Electric in November launched e-scooters for gig employees who’re powering India’s fast commerce economic system, competitors is fierce in a single of the world’s greatest two-wheeler markets.
India’s No. 2 two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. has additionally launched the electrical model of India’s topselling scooter Activa.
The retailer openings are additionally in preparation of the upcoming automobile launches, Ambit’s Gandhi mentioned. “The bigger challenge they need to address is getting the product quality right from day one of the launch.”