Investors lose Rs 38,000 crore as Ola Electric’s stock continues to slide

Mumbai, Nov 19 : As the shares of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric continue to slide, a massive Rs 38,000 crore worth of investors’ money has been eroded in the company’s stock in just a couple of months.

The EV company's shares have been trading around Rs 70 apiece, down almost 55 per cent or Rs 87.20 per share from its all-time high of Rs 157.40 per share. It is also trading below its public debut price of Rs 76.

Due to the steep decline, the market cap of the company has been reduced by Rs 38,000 crore. The market cap had reached an all-time high of around Rs 69,000 crore, which has come down to around Rs 31,000 crore.

The reason for the decline in the company's shares has been attributed to rising complaints from Ola Electric customers regarding poor service and product quality.

Kunwar Pal from Gurugram told IANS that he bought an Ola electric scooter in the last week of January.

“While driving, its rear tyre got jammed. Now, after coming to the service centre, I have found that its battery is dead and it will cost Rs 30,000,” he lamented.

Another Ola Electric customer from Gurugram said it has been about four months since he purchased the electric two-wheeler. “The vehicle has been facing problems for the last two months. The brake shoe has broken three times in a month. The service is very bad,” he said.

Several customers have reported problems with software, battery and jammed tyres.

The EV company’s net loss also surged 43 per cent to Rs 495 crore in the July-September period (Q2 FY25), from Rs 347 crore in the previous quarter (Q1 FY25).

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has also ordered a comprehensive probe into the EV company over its consumer complaint redressal practices.

The consumer watchdog, led by Nidhi Khare, asked the Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to probe the matter. The BIS chief has been asked to submit the report within 15 days.

Last month, Ola Electric claimed that 99.1 per cent of the 10,644 complaints on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) were resolved. The company was handed over a show-cause notice by the CCPA over alleged violations of consumer rights.