PRICE WARRIOR

Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola Electric declares a price war in e-scooters. But he faces questions over sustainability and a new challenge from Honda

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

diluted by their entry into the lower end. And two, due to cheap Chinese imports of these vehicles as kits, margins are wafer thin. Most of the scooters sold are from small players. The bigger electric scooter makers want punitive duties to discourage low-cost imports of unreliable quality. "A significant portion of the electric slow-speed scooters are in the unorganized sector offering products at lower price points but with varying quality standards. Ola, by offering a branded, reliable product, could disrupt the unorganized sector by providing a standardized and trustworthy product," says Harshvardhan Sharma, head of auto retail consulting practice at Nomura.

In China, in contrast, the bulk of electric two-wheeler sales are in this category and volumes have gone up because more than 20 cities only allow two-wheelers in this category. And big brands play a key role.