Ola Electric, a unit of the ride-hailing start-up Ola reported a mammoth response for its S1 and S1 Pro range of electric scooters. The company sold e-scooters worth over INR 1,100 crore in a two-day sale Chief Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal said in a blog post on September 17.
One day into the sales, the CEO claimed via Twitter that it has sold scooters worth over INR 600 crore and is receiving bookings for four electric scooters every second at peak.
The demand surge resulted in record sales
“This is unprecedented not just in the automotive industry, but it is one of the highest sales in a day for a single product in Indian e-commerce history! We truly are living in a digital India,” Aggarwal wrote.
“It also established that with the right product, India has huge pent-up demand and a massive domestic market for two-wheeler EVs (electric vehicles). We must leverage this to drive innovation, a robust local EV ecosystem and make India not only a big EV market but also a global EV manufacturing hub,” Aggarwal said.
OLA al set for festive comeback
Ola now plans to reopen the sales window on November 1 in time for Diwali the Indian festival of lights. Consumers can book their reservation slots on the Ola Electric website for Rs 499.
Those who have already reserved a slot but did not purchase a scooter in the window that closed Thursday will also be able to buy the product on November 1, the company said.
It also allowed users to book their reservation slots over the past couple of months and launch the scooters on September 8. The company postponed the sale to September 15 because of technical difficulties.
The company opened only on the Ola app on September 15, prioritizing users based on their reservation dates. The company said that customers had to make an advance payment of Rs 20,000, with deliveries beginning in October.
Sales coincide with new auto PLI scheme
The launch coincided with a new Rs 26,000 crore production linked incentive scheme for the auto and auto components industry announced by the government. Aggarwal praised the scheme on Twitter, saying it would pave the way for India to become a global EV hub.
In a blog post, Aggarwal highlighted how the single-day sales volumes, in value terms, was ‘more than what the entire 2W industry sells in a day.’ Earlier this week, Aggarwal said Ola’s electric scooter plant or “Future factory” will be run entirely by women. The Ola S1 has a price of INR 1 lakh, while the more capable S1 Pro is priced at INR 1.30 lakh.
