Ola Electric slips to fourth position in EV registrations in June 2022

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Two-wheeler electric vehicle maker Ola Electric has slipped to the fourth position in terms of electric vehicle registrations in June 2022, just months after reaching the top position, as per the government's Vahan dashboard.

As per Vahan data, Ola Electric clocked around 5,874 electric vehicle (EV) registrations for June 2022, a 36.5% drop from 9,255 registrations in May 2022 and less than half of 12,703 registrations in April 2022, the month it became the top electric vehicle maker in the country.

Okinawa Autotech maintained its pole position for the second consecutive month with 6,980 registrations in June 2022, although it also witnessed a 25% drop from 9,305 registrations in May 2022 and a 36% drop from 11,014 registrations in April 2022.

EV registrations of Ampere, the electric two-wheeler brand owned by Greaves Electric Mobility, were at 6,541 registrations in June 2022, a 12% increase from 5,837 registrations in May 2022 but nearly flat from 6,542 registrations in April 2022.

Hero Electric saw some recovery in its EV registrations to take the third spot with 6,503 registrations in June 2022, as compared to 2,851 registrations in May 2022 and nearly flat from 6,579 registrations in April 2022.

Hero Motocorp-backed Ather Energy stood fifth with 3,808 EV registrations in June 2022, a modest 14% growth from 3,338 registrations in May 2022 and 55% growth from 2,451 registrations in April 2022.

The overall EV registrations stood at 72,416 in June 2022, an increase from 65,879 registrations in May 2022 but a slight dip from 72,590 in April 2022.

To be sure, the Vahan dashboard does not capture data from Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Lakshadweep, due to which the number of registered EVs in these states is not available. An Ola Electric spokesperson hasd also previously told Moneycontrol that Vahan is not an accurate reflection of their dispatch and sales data, since there is a "long lag in data getting updated on the dashboard" and it only captures permanent registrations.

The company; however, attributed the current decline to the impact of supply chain constraints, especially on cell shortage in the month of June.

"We calibrated our business priority for the month to focus on bettering our customer service and bought our TAT (turnaround time) within 48 hours. Come July, we are confident that supply chain issues will start fading out and our strong order book will be fulfilled" a company spokesperson told IANS.

That said, the Bengaluru-based company has also witnessed a lot of exits from its top management in recent months.

On June 25, Ola mentioned that it will also be reorienting its Ola Cars business to focus more on strengthening go to market strategy for Ola Electric. Ola Cars infra, technology, and capabilities will be repurposed towards growing Ola Electric’s sales and service network, the company said.

Increased safety concerns

This development also comes at a time when a spate of battery-related fires in electric vehicles has raised safety concerns among existing customers as well as prospective buyers in the country.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently issued a stern message to electric vehicle makers, asking them to proactively recall all defective batches of vehicles on an immediate basis. He also mentioned that they will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies based on the recommendations of an expert committee looking into these matters, apart from releasing quality-centric guidelines for electric vehicles.

This had resulted in several companies including Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, and Ola Electric recalling their vehicles. Ola Electric recalled 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers in April this year.

Read: Moneycontrol Masterclass: Five most important questions on EV fires answered