EV start-up Ola Electric has plans to open more than 200 experience centres across India by March 2023. This was confirmed by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal via a tweet on Sunday. After taking the route of a digital-only sales model since the launch of its S1 Pro in August 2021. Ola Electric has now said it will soon open new physical touchpoints for prospective buyers. This will help to experience the product before making the purchase.
We understand Ola has taken this step after a consistent decline in its sales figures in the past few months. In May 2022, as per sources, Ola electric registered 9,249 e-scooters. This made it the industry leader for that month. But, the figure was down to just 3,421 units in August 2022. The reason for this debacle is still not clear. But given the numerous customer reports of various issues, it is likely to have had some effect.
So, now the introduction of these physical stores will help curtail the falling sales. The main aim is to build customer confidence in the product. The experience centres would enable Ola to play on its strengths and demonstrate and market its electric scooters better to customers. The only digital approach seems to have failed in this aspect.
The CEO’s tweet further mentioned that 20 such experience centres are already operational in India. Interestingly, there was no mention of the exact locations of these. Reports suggest that these centres will also serve as after-sales and service touch points. But for this, we do not have any official confirmation from Ola Electric just as of yet. We wait and watch how the introduction of physical stores will play out for Ola. The company has the infrastructure and resources to become India’s top-selling 2W EV maker if all goes well.
Also Read: New Ola S1 electric scooter launched at INR 99,999.