The Indian startup that is planning to build the world's biggest electric scooter factory gave out a bunch of brightly-colored bikes, complete with drummers and a saxophonist to mark the occasion. The founder came to thank the 100 customers.
But beyond the colorful proceedings, it isn't living up to its lofty ambitions. People familiar with the company's operations who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public said mass production of its e-scooters is likely to be pushed back until at least January.
The Bengaluru-based company is promising to fulfill the rest of the orders by February. According to people familiar with the situation, the company is struggling to iron out manufacturing problems and is only able to make 150 units a day if it has to deliver on time. The company's paint shop is not up and running and the body shop is half capacity.
The challenges that India's automobile industry will have to navigate as it pivots toward electric vehicles are a testament to the difficulties that Ola Electric is facing.
India, the world's third-biggest emitter, may face hurdles as it attempts to become net carbon zero by . At a time when ANI Technologies is preparing to woo investors ahead of a planned initial public offering in Mumbai, the ability of Ola to deliver on its promise is being tested. ANI Technologies had a minority stake in the electric vehicle maker after their common founder bought a majority stake.
The customers are waiting for their bikes. When it began taking orders in September, it said deliveries would begin in October and then in November and December.
Many disgruntled customers have taken to social media to complain.
Mr. Bhavish should not just keep using the social media platform to promote good things. The public paid full amount and are still waiting for delivery. You cheated them. How many times will you blame the chip shortage? Didn't you know?
>
November 21, 2021.
The company has an installed paint shop, an automated welding line, a battery line, and a general assembly line. He said that the two to four week delay was due to the global chip shortage, which has hobbled the auto industry.
The production numbers were not shared due to confidentiality.
The chip shortage has been an unpredictable beast for everyone, according to Aggarwal.
If you have a consumer base that is not happy with delivery timelines, it is never a good look for anyone. I think this is going to be an issue for the sector.
There is still a lot of reliance on the import-and-assemble model in India. He said that this creates too many factors a manufacturer can't control and that results in a product that isn't tailored for the local market.
The critical component is important.
India imports 70% of electric vehicle-parts from China, a situation that deprives local carmakers of an indigenous and reliable supply chain, a critical component for mass production.
It has worked to keep EV sales in the nation at 1% of overall auto sales, compared to 30% in some parts of China. New Delhi battled the world's most toxic air last month and according to the World Bank, it is costing the South Asian nation 8.5% of its gross domestic product.
People familiar with the situation say that scooters are being transported to a plant near Chennai owned by South Korea's Seoyon E-Hwa Co.
The representatives at the plant didn't answer the phone. The company works with multiple suppliers across the value chain, but wouldn't comment on any one of them individually, according to the Chief Marketing Officer.
If the company has to increase its annual production capacity to 2 million units in the first phase, the pressure will increase. The plan was to increase it to 10 million vehicles annually by the summer of 2022, or one e-scooter every two seconds.
The e-scooter was found to be lackluster by some of the people who test rode it.
A YouTuber who reviews automobiles on the video-sharing platform, tested out the e-scooters in Bengaluru last month. He said in an interview that some slowed down and came to a halt when they reached their top speed of 115 kilometers per hour.
There are software issues.
India's hot climate requires adequate motor cooling systems and without one, engines don't run as efficiently as they could, according to Pradeep. A few scooters had some software calibration due to the fact that they had been provided with the new software. The final version of the software has been released for customer deliveries.
The owner of two electric bikes and one e-scooter said that the rear suspension of the e-scooters uses a horizontal suspension to make room for boot space. The vertical suspension is better at absorbing shocks.
The horizontal layout leads to a superior ride and handling and weight balancing, as well as the scooter's suspension being industry leading and rides on one of the larger tires, according to the spokeswoman.
The display screen of a scooter.
Quality issues are more prevalent in the low-speed electric two- and three-wheeler segments in India. The segment is flooded with small players that directly import vehicle components from China. The delivery delays by Ola are making customers anxious.
2 A.M. meetings.
The pressure of meeting delivery targets is getting to the top management at the company with Aggarwal holding meetings as early as 2 a.m., people familiar said.
Money Control reported that Joseph Thomas left last month. The exit came amid broader attrition at firms. The executives did not respond to requests for comment.
"Ola was trying to make industry-changing products, which require unreasonable efforts," said Dubey. That takes a lot of effort.
Rivals are getting ready. Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest maker of motorcycles, plans to launch its first e-scooter in March, while Bajaj Auto, an auto-rickshaw maker based in Maharashtra, is planning to start deliveries of its Chetak electric scooter by the second quarter of next.
The Indian automobile industry is in the midst of a transition that is led mostly by startups and Original Equipment Manufacturers without decades of experience in the electric vehicles markets, according to BNEF.
She said that Ola will be free of delays if it delivers a high quality and high value product soon.
Corrects to clarify corporate structure in paragraphs 5 and 23.
