Ola woes grow, bets on battery

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd had its own set of problems, and the goods and servicestax (GST) rate cut from 28% to 18% on ICE two-wheelers has only made matters worse.

- Manish Joshi

Ola’s November retail sales, as per Vahan data, came in at 8,350 vehicles, the lowest since February. After the GST cut, effective 22 September, traditional ICE two-wheeler manufacturers such as Hero Moto Corp Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd and TVS Motor Co. Ltd have slashed prices by at least ₹5,000 per vehicle.

Effectively, it neutralizes the maximum benefit of ₹5,000 per electric vehicle (EV) available under the PM E-Drive scheme to the buyer. Notably, even the PM E-Drive benefit for electric two-wheelers will expire in March. Thus, the gap between the pricing of Ola’s electric two-wheeler and its ICE rivals is likely to become at least ₹10,000 per vehicle. What is the significance of ₹10,000 per vehicle? Well, it is 25% of Ola’s gross margin per vehicle of ₹40,000 achieved in the September quarter (Q2FY26).