Ola Electric expands service by 30%; adds over 50 centres, 500 technicians

BENGALURU: India's biggest e-scooter maker Ola Electric has ramped up capacity at its service centres across the country by over 30 per cent to transform its service and elevate the after-sales experience of customers, sources said.

The Softbank Group-backed firm, which commands nearly a third of the market share in India's e-scooter market, has added more than 50 service centres and has hired over 500 service technicians across new and existing service centres to streamline operations and clear all backlogs.

The company reportedly has also onboarded Ernst & Young for service transformation, strategy, and optimisation of overall service processes.

The development comes in the backdrop of some centres reporting backlogs as demand outstripped their workforce.

"The company has silently been gathering all forces to overcome its service backlog. The company has already cleared around two-thirds of the service backlog and should be able to clear the remaining in the next couple of weeks," said a senior official within the organisation, requesting anonymity.

Ola was in the spotlight earlier this month following a public spat between its founder Bhavish Aggarwal, and standup comedian Kunal Kamra over the quality of service.

Last week, HSBC Global Research maintained a 'buy' rating for Ola Electric shares, with a target price of Rs 110 apiece. The global research firm revisited Ola Electric's service centres a month after an earlier inspection in September and noted substantial improvements in service centres.

In its research note, HSBC reported that the backlog at Ola's service centres had decreased by 20-30 per cent month-on-month, and vehicle outflow is exceeding the inflow.

In September, founder and CMD Bhavish Aggarwal announced the #Hyperservice campaign with the goal of offering technology-led, best-in-class after-sales experience. As part of the announcement, Ola Electric plans to double the company-owned service network to 1,000 centres by December 2024.

Though Ola has not released an official progress update on #Hyperservice since its initial announcement, behind-the-scenes efforts suggest a promising impact for maintaining its position as a market leader in the EV 2W segment, committed to transforming the EV 2W ownership experience for users in India.

According to the government portal Vahan, Ola Electric has reinforced its leadership position in the category with an increased market share of over 30 per cent in October 2024 so far, up from 27 per cent in September 2024.