Ola Electric plans to launch its first electric autorickshaw, which will likely be called ‘Raahi.’ Expected to be unveiled later this month (March 2024), the company plans to sell the electric rickshaw directly to customers, The Economic Times reported.
With their long-term plan to enter the commercial vehicle sector, Ola Electric has been working on Raahi for a few years.
However, when it enters the competitive market of the electric three-wheeler, it will go head-to-head with numerous established players. Some of these are Piaggio Ape e-city, Bajaj RE and Mahindra Treo.
An insider told the Economic Times that Ola Electric, ahead of its anticipated initial public offering, is planning to make important announcements, including updates on its gigafactory, in the upcoming coming. The e-autorickshaw is more likely to be part of the same plan, and the aim is to implement it within the upcoming two weeks.
However, as per ET, Ola Electric has not confirmed anything about it yet.
Ola Electric’s Current Market Performance
Many of us know that Ola Electric dominates the electric scooter segment. If we talk about their electric scooter market performance, the company sold a record 33,722 units and had an impressive 41 per cent share as of February.
On the other hand, competitors like TVS Motor held 18% of the market share, with Bajaj Auto at 14.2% and Ather at 11%.
With such market dominance in the two-wheeler electric scooter, Ola will also look to take over the e-autorickshaw segment.
However, the e-autorickshaw segment is becoming a more competitive market as it witnessed a significant increase in the sales of electric three-wheelers in 2023.
As per the data from the government’s transport website Vahan, there was a remarkable surge in the sales of three-wheeler electric vehicles, with numbers jumping from 352,710 units in 2022 to 582,793 units in 2023, marking a 65.23% annual growth.
Moreover, out of the total three-wheeler sales in 2023, over 50% were electric three-wheelers.
Future Plans of Ola Electric
Although Ola Electric is the leader in the electric two-wheeler segment, it aims to further strengthen its position in the market by introducing Ola e-motorcycles.
With such a goal in mind, the company decided to extend the battery warranty to eight years for all its scooter variants. Not just that, the company plans to offer portable fast chargers, install around 10,000 fast-charging points, and expand the service centre network to 600 by April.
In December 2023, Ola submitted a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), with plans to raise to ₹5,500 crore through a new issue, in addition to an offer for sale of 95.2 million shares by current investors.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the Founder and CEO, unveiled plans to set up a gigafactory by the end of the current quarter, dedicating ₹1,226 crores from the expected IPO proceeds for this initiative.
