India’s Ola Electric Mobility has announced plans to significantly expand its sales and service network. The electric scooter manufacturer aims to add 10,000 new partners by the end of 2025, a strategy that could reshape the landscape of electric vehicle (EV) sales and maintenance in India.
The company, which has faced criticism over its after-sales service, revealed on Thursday that it has already onboarded 625 sales partners under this new initiative. This expansion program represents a strategic shift for Ola Electric, as these new partners will not be limited to handling only Ola’s products. Instead, they will be authorised to retail and maintain electric vehicles from other brands as well, while still employing Ola’s technicians and support staff.
This move comes at a crucial time for Ola Electric, which has recently been under scrutiny for its post-sale service quality. In a particularly alarming incident, a man was reportedly arrested for allegedly setting fire to an Ola showroom due to dissatisfaction with the service provided. Additionally, numerous mechanics have reported that Ola’s service centres are struggling with significant backlogs and are finding it challenging to manage the volume of customer complaints effectively.
As of March 31, Ola Electric’s network consisted of nearly 800 company-owned stores and 431 service centres, according to information available on its website. The company has set an ambitious target to expand this to 1,800 sales and service centres, including both company-owned stores and network partners, before the upcoming festive season, which typically begins in September.
The timing of this expansion is strategic, as the festive season in India, which includes celebrations such as Navratri and Diwali, is traditionally a period when consumers are more inclined to make significant purchases, including vehicles like scooters.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola’s chairman and managing director, emphasised the importance of this expansion in a statement, saying, “While the company-owned stores will be the anchors of our sales and service network, this program will be instrumental in expanding the EV footprint deeper into the urban and rural markets.”
This expansion plan reflects Ola Electric’s commitment to addressing the challenges it has faced in customer service while simultaneously aiming to capitalise on the growing demand for electric vehicles in India. By creating a more extensive network of sales and service points, the company hopes to improve accessibility and support for current and potential customers across both urban and rural areas.
The decision to allow these new partners to work with other brands’ electric vehicles is particularly noteworthy. This approach could potentially create a more integrated and efficient ecosystem for EV sales and maintenance in India, benefiting not just Ola Electric but the broader electric vehicle market as well.
However, the success of this ambitious plan will largely depend on Ola Electric’s ability to effectively train and manage this expanded network of partners. The company will need to ensure consistent quality of service across all locations, a challenge that has proven difficult in the past.
As Ola Electric moves forward with this expansion, industry observers will be keenly watching to see if this strategy successfully addresses the company’s service-related issues and strengthens its position in India’s competitive electric vehicle market. The outcome of this initiative could have significant implications not only for Ola Electric but for the entire EV industry in India, potentially setting new standards for sales and service in this rapidly growing sector.
While the expansion plan shows promise, it also raises questions about the company’s ability to manage such rapid growth effectively. The current management team at Ola Electric faces the challenge of not only implementing this ambitious plan but also ensuring that it leads to a sustainable improvement in customer satisfaction and service quality.