Ola Electric’s once-dominant run in India’s electric two-wheeler market has sharply reversed in 2025, with its VAHAN-registered sales almost halving even as rivals TVS, Bajaj and Ather posted record volumes. The year also saw Ola’s earlier subsidy and compliance controversies resurface in public debate, adding to investor and consumer scrutiny.
2025 EV two-wheeler sales snapshot
Approximate CY2025 registrations from VAHAN/data-backed reports (up to December 26):
- Ola Electric’s registrations have fallen from over 4.07 lakh in 2024 to about 1.97 lakh in 2025, a drop of more than half.
- TVS and Bajaj both grew volumes by roughly 30%, while Ather overtook Ola for the first time, clocking 1,97,596 units vs Ola’s 1,96,767.
Late-2025 monthly trend: Ola Electric vs Ather vs legacy players
The erosion in Ola’s lead became stark in the last two months:
- November 2025:
- December 2025 (till 26th):
Across 2025, VAHAN-based analyses repeatedly showed:
- TVS iQube as market leader for much of the year.
- Bajaj Chetak periodically topping monthly charts, especially in October (31,168 units; Ola down at ~16,000).
- Ather delivering its highest-ever months (28,000+ in October) and consistently closing the gap with TVS and Bajaj.
What each player is doing right or wrong
TVS Motor (iQube)
- Broad dealer network, strong after-sales and brand trust from ICE scooters.
- Balanced product: practical range, good build, competitive finance.
- Some production constraints (rare-earth magnet supply) briefly slowed growth, but overall YoY volumes still jumped over 30%.
Bajaj Auto (Chetak)
- Chetak’s design and Bajaj’s legacy distribution helped it regain the top spot in several months.
- 26–29% YoY volume growth, with strong April–June and festive quarters.
Ather Energy
- Aggressive product roadmap (450S, 450X Gen 3, family-focused Rizta) and over-the-air software upgrades.
- Highest-ever monthly sales in October and sustained 10,000+ units for several months.
- Premium positioning with strong city-centric adoption.
Ola Electric
- Initially dominated the market in 2023–24 with aggressive pricing, online-only model and strong marketing, topping 4 lakh units in 2024.
- In 2025, sales weakened steadily from mid-year, with a steep drop from September onward as rivals scaled, some states tightened norms, and perception issues mounted.
Ola’s recent controversies and headwinds
Ola has been under a cloud for the past two years on multiple fronts:
- FAME-II subsidy violations:
- Government probes found Ola and several peers billing off-board chargers separately to keep ex-factory vehicle prices under the INR 1.5 lakh cap for subsidies. Ola agreed to reimburse about INR 130 crore in wrongly claimed subsidies on S1 Pro models sold between FY2020 and March 20, 2023.
- Though technically not the worst offender, the episode dented trust and triggered tighter scrutiny.
- Quality, range and fire-related complaints:
- Earlier reports and social-media videos highlighted thermal incidents, software bugs, range shortfalls vs claims, and service issues.
- While Ola rolled out over-the-air fixes and hardware changes, the reputational impact lingered and made mainstream buyers more cautious.
- Regulatory and state-level actions:
- Promoter-level share sales and stock volatility:
Despite these challenges, Ola did win a sanction order for incentives of ₹366.78 crore under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Auto and Auto Components, for FY 2024–25 claims—a sign that at least some compliance boxes are now ticked and the government still sees it as a key EV player.
Summary comparison
Overall, 2025 marks a turning point: the EV two-wheeler market is no longer “Ola vs the rest.” Legacy OEMs and Ather have not only caught up but overtaken Ola Electric on volumes, while Ola now has to rebuild trust, deepen offline service and prove that its PLI- and factory-led scale story can translate into sustained, controversy-free growth.
Read this: Amid Losing Market Share, Bhavish Aggarwal Sells Ola Electric Shares to Repay Debt
