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Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric has opened its first dealer-operated stores across India, less than a month after announcing a shift from its company-owned retail model. The first dealer-led outlets have gone live across Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The company said the stores will cater to local demand for its electric scooters and motorcycles while expanding its presence across regional markets. Ola Electric is now looking to build a network of more than 500 dealerships over the next two quarters. Meanwhile, its existing company-owned stores will transition into product experience centres. The development marks the beginning of a major overhaul of the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company’s distribution strategy. Ola Electric opened its sales and service network to dealers on August 6, five years after launching its first escooter through a fully company-owned retail network. Under the new model, dealers will handle local sales and service, while the company’s outlets will largely focus on showcasing its products and building the brand. The partner-led model is expected to allow Ola Electric to expand across cities and towns without incurring the costs associated with setting up and operating company-owned stores. The company had earlier said that it received more than 1,200 expressions of interest from prospective dealer partners. It added that the dealer network would help the EV maker take its products deeper into regional markets. The dealership push is also expected to support Ola Electric’s attempt to address its long-standing after-sales service issues. The company has faced sustained customer complaints related to delayed repairs, inadequate spare parts, and service centre capacity. Under the dealer-led model, partners will handle both sales and service and maintain Ola Electric’s spare-parts inventory locally. While announcing its Q4 FY26 financials, the company said service was the largest constraint on demand and brand trust through the fiscal year, but claimed that average service turnaround time fell 88% from around nine days in October 2025 to nearly one day in March 2026. Service backlog declined from 14 days to six days, while same-day closures reached about 87%. The rollout comes as Ola Electric looks to regain lost ground in India’s increasingly competitive electric two-wheeler market. The OEM has seen a turnaround in recent months, and commanded a 7.6% market share in E2W registrations in August. To penetrate further into the mass market segment, Ola Electric launched the new S1Z range, priced from ₹79,999. Offered with 3.1 kWh and 5.1 kWh battery options, the scooters have claimed ranges of up to 179 km and 301 km, respectively. Beyond new models, the EV major is also using the S1Z to showcase its battery technology, with the scooter becoming its first model to use its indigenously developed Bharat Cell LFP technology.
document fetched 2026-09-05 02:58 · canonical https://inc42.com/buzz/ola-electric-opens-first-dealer-led-stores-eyes-500-outlet-network