Ola Electric: A brief history of issues plaguing Bhavish Aggarwal’s EV company | Company Business News

Ola Electric’s woes continue to mount in the face of declining stock value (currently listed at ₹50 on the BSE). India’s leading electric two-wheeler is witnessing record lows in investor confidence as its maiden electric motorcycle – the Roadster – continues to witness delays in deliveries and homologation issues. Back in June 2024, the Bengaluru-based e-mobility giant, held 49% of the market share which dropped 19% in December and rose to 23% in April 2025. While that’s still a significant size of the market, Ola Electric has given way to established legacy players like Bajaj taking the top spot in both value and volume in the Indian e2W segment, with a 29% market share belonging to the Chetak. Ola’s troubles began brewing last year as customer complaints regarding the S1 line of scooters began to mount, leading to:

October 3, 2024: Show cause notice from CCPA

Ola Electric’s troubles seem to have precipitated ever since the Central Consumer Protection Authority of India (CCPA) issued a show cause notice, taking cognizance of the nearly 11,000 customer complaints received by the National Consumer Helpline since 2023. The core of the consumer complaints involves the sale of vehicles with manufacturing defects, cases of second-hand vehicles being sold as new, denial or partial refunds for booking cancellations, recurring issues despite servicing, overcharging, incorrect invoicing, and numerous problems related to batteries and other vehicle components.

January 7, 2025: SEBI issues warning letter on violation of disclosure norms

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a warning to Ola Electric after it violated disclosure norms when its Chairman Bhavish Aggarwal announced news about new store openings on his X handle. Publicly listed companies must disclose any material information to investors via exchange filings within 12 hours of the event occurring, and before sharing it through any other channels. “The above violations have been viewed very seriously. You are hereby warned,” SEBI said in its letter, according to a Reuters report.

February, 2025: Decline in registrations

In February 2025, Ola reported selling over 25,000 units, but records from the government’s Vahan portal indicated only around 8,600 actual vehicle registrations for that month. Furthermore, Ola Electric included bookings of its yet-to-be-delivered electric motorcycles and third-gen scooters, in a bid to regain investor confidence. Ola Electric attributed this partly to a shift in in-house registrations, as it renewed its contracts with external agencies thus far responsible for registering its vehicles. Although Ola Electric claims to have been working on the backlog, it did not reveal its monthly sales figures for the first time, in the first week of April 2025.

February, 2025: Decline in registrations

In February 2025, Ola reported selling over 25,000 units, but records from the government’s Vahan portal indicated only around 8,600 actual vehicle registrations for that month. Furthermore, Ola Electric included bookings of its yet-to-be-delivered electric motorcycles and third-gen scooters, in a bid to regain investor confidence. Ola Electric attributed this partly to a shift in in-house registrations, as it renewed its contracts with external agencies thus far responsible for registering its vehicles. Although Ola Electric claims to have been working on the backlog, it did not reveal its monthly sales figures for the first time, in the first week of April 2025.

March 4, 2025: IFCI notice for missing PLI-ACC scheme targets

Ola Electric stated that its wholly owned subsidiary Ola Electric Mobility Cell Technologies responsible for battery production received a letter from IFCI for missing out on targets specified under the Production Linked Incentive Advanced Chemistry Cell Scheme. While Ola stated that it is on track to meet the production timelines with commercial production of its cells scheduled for Q1 of FY26, the brand is required to pay a monthly penalty in multiples of lakhs for the non-achievement of the first milestone, as per schedule M of the Programme Agreement dated July 28, 2022. While Ola claims to be on track to being the first to commercially manufacture li-ion cells in India, the notice has once again invited scrutiny from increasingly skeptical investors.

March 6, 2025: Delay in homologation and deliveries of the Roadster series of e-motorcycles

According to the AI bot on Ola Electric’s website, the delivery timeline for the Roadster series of e-motorcycles unveiled late last year has not been fixed yet. The deliveries for the Roadster, Roadster X and the Roadster X+ motorcycles have witnessed significant delays, month after month, owing to the product not being homologated. The issues include thermal management, the battery management system and the electric motor – all of which Ola is producing in-house. The homologation certificate, which is issued by the Automotive Research Association of India can take three to six months to complete. While Ola Electric had earlier stated that the deliveries had been pushed from March to April, a variety of issues, from the battery to the use of flat cables instead of traditional wiring harness is causing delays in certification and as a corollary, in the eventual deliveries.

April 22, 2025: Shut down order of customer experience centres in Maharashtra

Ola Electric’s most recent setback comes in the form of the Maharashtra state government ordering the closure of 107 of its Customer Experience Centres, found to be selling scooters without a valid trade certificate from the RTO. While Ola Electric does not operate via an official dealership model, the brand has multiple Experience centres across the country which offer test rides, financing options and assistance with documentation and delivery. They do not, however, provide help with the registration of the vehicle. Instead, Ola Electric ties-up with third party outfits such as Rosmerta Digital Services Pvt Ltd and Shimnit India Pvt Ltd – the same companies it claimed to have been renegotiating its contract with, leading to fewer registered vehicles in February. According to CNBC, to date over 43 stores have been shut down and 214 Ola Electric vehicles have been seized due to being sold without trade certificates.