Ola Electric deliveries delayed over price renegotiation with vehicle registration agencies: Report

Ola Electric’s decision last month to renegotiate contracts with two of India’s largest vehicle registration agencies resulted in delayed deliveries.

The waiting period ended up increasing to 20-45 days from 5-7 days before February, according to a Mint report which cited managers at seven Ola Electric stores across New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru as saying.

HT.com cannot independently verify the authenticity of the information contained in the report.

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The renegotiations came about with the company looking to drastically cut the associated costs with the agencies Rosmerta Digital Services Pvt Ltd and Shimnit India Pvt Ltd, especially for entering registration data into Vahan, the transport department’s website.

The agencies had charged Ola ₹1,400-1,600 for registering each electric vehicle, according to the report which added that Ola renegotiated for a price around one-third of this.

Ola Electric also needs these agencies’ services due to its direct-to-consumer model wherein there are only experience centers which direct customers to its online platform.

The delivery delays resulted in several buyers taking to social media to complain.

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Despite all of this, the company has claimed that delivery times improved, being reduced from 12 days to 3-4 days, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday.

Its rivals such as Bajaj, TVS, Ather, and Hero however, don’t have this issue since they operate using traditional dealerships.

Bajaj and TVS had also previously dethroned Ola Electric from its spot as the electric two-wheeler market leader as the competition in the space heated up.

Bajaj recorded a 25% market share in December, followed by TVS at 23.5% and Ola Electric at 19%, according to the report. However, Ola Electric regained leadership in January with a 26% market share.

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The company’s shares had also taken a hit, falling by over 17% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as compared with a 5% decline in the BSE Auto index. Overall, it is trading 33% below the price it was listed at in August 2024.