Ola Electric's stock gained about 6.85% on Monday to Rs 93.41 on the BSE after CEO Bhavish Aggarwal outlined ambitious intentions to grow the company's retail network. Aggarwal said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Ola will expand its shop count from 800 to 4,000 by the end of December.
"We're going from 800 to 4000 stores this month. We aim to be as close to our customers as possible. All outlets across India will open on December 20th. Probably the largest single-day store opening ever! "All stores have service capacity," stated Bhavish Aggarwal in his X post on December 2.
The tweet also stated that all of these stores will open across India on December 20, 2024.
The company's shares were down more than 5% in early morning trading after sales fell by more than 33% in November, from 41,756 units in October to 27,746.
This performance led in Ola securing a 25.09% market share, leading the segment but with a shrinking lead over rivals TVS and Bajaj Auto. TVS registered 26,036 (23.55% share), while Bajaj Auto registered 24,978 (22.59% share).
The total electric vehicle (EV) market experienced an 18% decrease in registrations in November compared to October, indicating a post-festival downturn. While Ola's drop was significant, TVS and Bajaj showed greater steadiness, with dips of 13.4% and 12%, respectively. This trend points to increased competition in the EV space.
Ola continues to lead the market year to far, with 392,176 vehicles sold, accounting for 37% of the total. TVS comes in second at 19.5%, with 201,966 units sold, followed by Bajaj Auto at 16.6%, with 173,721 vehicles sold. Ather Energy also has a significant 11% stake, selling more than 1 lakh units. However, Ola's market share has fluctuated during CY2024, peaking at 49.8% in May, declining to 28.6% in September, and rebounding to 31% in October due to holiday promotions.
Despite these figures, November's precipitous decrease reflects increased competition from rivals such as TVS and Bajaj, which might tighten the struggle for market leadership in 2025.
Ola Electric reported a net loss of Rs 495 crore year on year (YoY) in Q2 FY25, down from Rs 524 crore in Q2 FY24. Meanwhile, revenue from operations increased 39% year on year to Rs 1,214 crore in the reporting September quarter. On a sequential basis, the loss increased from Rs 347 crore reported in the June quarter.
On a sequential basis, the loss increased from Rs 347 crore reported in the June quarter. EBITDA losses for the quarter were Rs 223 crore, higher than the Rs 321 crore loss reported in the previous year period. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, operating losses increased from Rs 65 crore in Q1FY25.
EBITDA margins were recorded at -28.4% in the second quarter, compared to -46% the previous year.
On Friday, Ola shares closed at Rs 87.4, down 5.9% on the BSE, while the benchmark Sensex rose 0.96%. Its stock has fallen 27% in the last three months. The company currently has a market valuation of Rs 38,559 crore.
