Ola Electric is shifting to a dealer-led sales and service model, opening its network to partners across India. The company aims to scale the dealership footprint by Diwali 2026
The move will help Ola expand beyond company-owned stores, improve local reach and support its next phase of EV growth while reducing dependence on its own retail network
Dealers will handle sales and service, while Ola stores will focus on brand experience. The company is also expanding into battery storage through Ola Mahashakti with a planned 20 GWh BESS deployment partnership
Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric
is shifting to a dealer-led sales and service model across India as it looks to expand its EV presence beyond its company-owned retail network.
The move marks a strategic pivot for the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company, which has relied on a direct-to-consumer model since launching its first electric scooters five years ago. Ola Electric said it has now opened its network to dealer partners and expects the dealership footprint to achieve significant scale by Diwali 2026.
Under the new model, company-owned stores will focus on brand experience and product demonstrations, while dealers will drive local sales, service, and expansion. Ola Electric said the dealer-led approach will combine its EV portfolio and brand strength with partners’ local market knowledge to strengthen its presence across cities and towns.
The company said dealer partners will get access to its customer base, scooters, motorcycles, energy products, and service opportunities.
It is pertinent to mention that the company has been facing a large number of complaints about its after-sales services for more than a year. While Ola Electric says it has reduced the backlog of complaints, its social media pages continue to see complaints from customers. With dealers handling service as well, the company is likely looking at addressing this issue.
Ola Electric CMD Aggarwal said the shift reflects the evolution of India’s EV market, with dealer partners expected to help the company expand its reach across cities and towns.
As part of the transition, BVR Subbu, former President of Hyundai Motors India, has rejoined Ola Electric as a senior advisor. He will support the execution of the company’s dealer-led expansion strategy. Earlier, he served on Ola Electric’s board.
The development comes at a time when Ola Electric is looking to regain its market share in the competitive two-wheeler EV market. At the same time, the company is betting on the battery energy storage system (BESS) segment as its next growth frontier.
While Ola Electric unveiled its residential BESS offering, Ola Shakti, in October last year, it plans to unveil Ola Mahashakti, a BESS platform for commercial, industrial and utility-scale applications, on August 15.
Yesterday, Ola Electric announced a partnership with Axis Energy for the potential deployment of up to 20 GWh of commercial battery energy storage systems by 2032. The agreement envisages annual deployments ramping up to 5 GWh from 2028.
Ola Electric said Mahashakti will focus on renewable energy integration, industrial power, grid infrastructure and data centre applications. The platform will use the company’s vertically integrated capabilities across battery cells, manufacturing and system engineering.
Notably, the company has been fighting on multiple fronts over the past few months amid high losses, declining sales, regulatory troubles and insolvency petitions by suppliers.
In Q4 FY26, Ola Electric reported a consolidated net loss of ₹500 Cr, narrowing from ₹870 Cr a year earlier. However, revenue declined 57% YoY to ₹265 Cr due to lower vehicle deliveries.
The company is set to announce its Q1 FY27 results tomorrow. Shares of Ola were trading 0.53% higher at ₹41.64 apiece on the BSE at around 13:07 IST.
Source: Inc42 - Startups
