đȘOLA: BOOK me. CHARGE me. Still NOT Guilty.
[#12] Tale of Chaos: OLA. OLA Cabs. OLA Electric. Futurefactory. Ather & Yuluâa speed bump? Bhavish's vision is on the WHEELS, the question is: Is the future of India riding on Battery or Booking?
I Love You 2000. Letâs not fool ourselves in April and simply start the morning by congratulating âYOUâ for being an intimate inKredible subsKriber of iKyu.
Morning iKyuâs inKredible subsKriber, we are now a cult of 2000+ inKredible readers (with increasing premium subscribers. beautiful.) experiencing the crĂšme de la crĂšme of Indiaâs business content.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank all my readers for giving a quarter of an ounce of your time and experiencing âThe Antidote of Clickbait Business Journalismâ and making us 2000+ readers strong. Shukriya đ (Thank you very much).
~ vivan (and iKyu).
Now, letâs get back to breaking down businesses.
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words."
â Ursula K. Le Guin
Itâs the sapphire spring that sprung over the startup/business world in India. Marching in with a beautiful reportage. In a world which was built on the sound of âvroommm vrooommmâ â we now are being fed to romanticise the silence of the silicates.
To ELI5 you: âWe are talking Lithium. We are talking Batteries. We are talking about OLA Electric and Bhavish Aggarwalâs guilty pleasure of triumphing in the EV market in Indiaâ
But does a deviant pet project have what it takes to become a charming poster boy brand of the EV revolution in India; where other players have started swooping in and glueing the gap where once OLA ruled?
THE (K)EY NOTES:
The (K)urrent: THE OLA RISE/RIDE
The (K)réme: THE OLA WIDE/SLIDE
The (K)inK: THE OLA HIDE/INSIDE
Before OLA Electric was an armour plate, OLA had a Tetralogy. In todayâs documentary-style Breakdown Edition, we are experiencing OLAâs âABSâ (Avalanching-Business-Story)âŠ
Ola Cabs walked, so OLA Electric could run. But Still NOT Guilty?
THE (K)URRENT
THE OLA RISE/RIDEâŠ
OLA is not a car/cab or any vehicle company. OLA is a funny company. It shall unveil itself. This is not the first time OLA has been Kriticised for octopus-sing into different ventures as teenage exploration phases. But before we slide, letâs dive into the tale of the tapeâŠ
Ola Café
What was it exactly? Who knows?
Shut just after a year of launch (2016)
FoodPanda
Acquired for what (who knows!) exactly?
In 2017, 200K+ daily orders to not even get it up to 5K by 2019
Acquired at $50Mil Valuation. Shut in 2019.
Ola Cars
Used-vehicles Reselling. A good business to be in with a brand built under the OLA label
But operations halted. Why? No one knows.
OLAâs Press Release said, âinfrastructure, technology and capabilities of OLA Cars will now be repurposed towards growing Ola Electricâs sales and service network.â OK.
Ola Dash
Formerly Ola Store. A grocery delivery service. Shut down in 2016
But revived in 2021 as Quick-commerce grocery delivery. Yes. Zepto/Blinkit 10-15 mins fever caught up to OLA.
Set up 200 Dark stores. 9 Cities.
Rebranded from
OLA Storeto OLA Dash.Shut down in 2022.
Did you notice? Did you figure out the pattern?
Where are they? Just like the teenage exploration phase has an expiry date; OLA couldnât keep up with any of its âexperimentsâ. Thereâs a pattern attached to it. When turbo-charged emotions become your aspiration to build for a cause you will fail no matter the risk youâre willing to take. A fundamental flaw is ignored.
Still NOT Guilty?
They say âStick with what youâve right now. GROW it. Then venture into different silhouettesâ â Theyâre not WRONG. They only assert with the data they have. Canât argue it but accept it. Well, itâs not for everyone!
But hunger is a brute. Brutes build to survive. Thatâs what Bhavish is all about now? But how long does a âBruteâ have?
THE (K)RĂME
THE OLA WIDE/SLIDEâŠ
âOLA Electric faces energy put down due to competitionâ
âVanguard Slashes Olaâs Valuation By Another 29% To $1.8 Bnâ
âOLA Electric has a bumpy road aheadâŠâRecent OLA Headlines.
With OLA Electricâs fancy roadshow of IPOs and new product lineups, itâs slowly and gradually stalling the EV Market. Becoming a mammoth is one thing, but in a lucrative market like India â thereâs every 3-4 Davids for One Goliath.
TECH-TAC-TOE
This gaussian-GREEN obsession of India showcases a brevity pattern of Indiaâs market and consumers. Because we are a chest for DAU farming, itâs very easy to push a trend in our diaspora. You name it, we are always the first one to adopt, acclaim, ascend, and avoid â Web3. NFT. Blockchain. AI. EV.
India is to be titled the EARLY ADOPTERs. But a challenge is that by being early to the party, you canât estimate how many more are to arrive â thatâs what happening with OLA Electric.
When a difficult density point is created in a market, the âtechnology-adoption life cycleâ dies. What happens after this?
PRICE HIT.
Yes, Bhavish is suiting up for an IPO (might be soon or never? Who knowsâŠ) â And might be posing to fine-tune its supply chain, ironing out production wrinkles and extinguishing the EV Heat (or FIRE); All of these shenanigans for what? An IPO.
Ola in August last year, was devalued by over 50%, just six months after its first cut in February 2023. Olaâs biggest investor valued them at $3.5 billion in its August 2023 round. It gets even crazier because the vision of hyper-growth comes at a cost; that too when OLAâs bumpy ride is just getting started.
Vanguard âCUT THE ROPEâ Swipe
Vanguard, from time to time, has humbled OLA Electric and Bhavishâs hitchhiking, for the third time in February 2024. Vanguard had purchased its stake in Ola's parent company ANI Technologies for $51.7 million.
The world's largest issuer of mutual funds âVanguardâ, the gentlemen's firm in the startup ecosystem has slashed the valuation of ï»żOlaï»ż to $1.88 billion, lower than its latest fair value of $2.65 billion as of August 31.
âSo far, Ola has raised around $4 billion in equity funding from investors such as ï»żTiger Global Managementï»ż and ï»żSoftBankï»ż. The company had planned to do an initial public offering in 2021 and even engaged investment banks to underwrite the offering, only to later withdraw its plans. ANI Technologies, the parent company of Olaï»ż, said its standalone loss in FY23 narrowed by nearly 65%, coming in at Rs 1,082.56 crore.â
YourStory
Finger LITHIUMâ Good
Back in February, Ola Electric bid for lithium mining rights in the country. This strategic move, part of an initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to auction critical minerals, aims to bolster the company's electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing capabilities.
Lithium, a key component in EV batteries, is at the heart of India's push towards sustainable transportation. Ola's potential foray into lithium mining reflects the broader ambition to secure essential raw materials domestically, reducing reliance on imports and supporting the country's goal to increase EV adoption.
In the competitive landscape of India's electric vehicle (EV) sector, where giants are rising every minute along with Ola Electric's long-haul play, understanding the market dynamics and the challenges it faces requires a look into the broader industry statistics and trends.
As of 2024, the Indian EV market is estimated to be valued at approximately USD 34.80 billion, with projections suggesting a growth of USD 110.74 billion by 2029. This growth is expected at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.05% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2029. The market's expansion is attributed to various vehicle types including passenger vehicles such as hatchbacks, multi-purpose vehicles, sedans, and sports utility vehicles, along with two-wheelers which are a significant segment in the Indian market due to their popularity and ease of use in the country's urban and semi-urban areas.
Now thatâs Finger LITHIUMâs goodâŠ
OLA Electricâs âHELL IN A CELLâ
The competitive landscape is no cooler than a KJO not-so-blockBUSTER film. A long list of uprising stars trying to establish a base in the industryâbut Dharma is watchingâŠ
Ather Energy
Yulu
Simple Energy
Bounce Infinity
Ultraviolette
Tork Motors
Okinawa Scooters
Revolt Motors
And many more⊠(plus a handful in making)
Still NOT Guilty.
Passenger vehicles, particularly those in the mid-range price category, currently dominate the market share, propelled by their comfort, range, and the availability of various models catering to different consumer preferences. Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are leading the market in terms of propulsion type, thanks to their efficiency and zero emissions. The growth of BEVs is supported by decreasing battery costs and government policies aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels â But this is where this âHell in a Cellâ BEGINS (ting-ting-ting).
TL;DR
Ola Electric, with its bold claims and massive manufacturing facilities like the Futurefactory, has certainly captured the public's imagination. Yet, this has also set high expectations, where anything short of revolutionary can be seen as a shortfall. The company's initial promise of redefining the EV sector with its scooters has been met with mixed reviews, with some customers voicing concerns over product quality, software glitches, customer service issues and the random FIRE spree-EV. These growing pains, while not uncommon in the startup world, highlight the immense pressure Ola Electric faces in living up to its own hype. Bhavishâs Last Dance has to be iconic before IPO or the Indian startup ecosystem is watchingâŠ
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The (K)inK.
âInternet piK of the weekâ
Sony did it before the worldâŠ
HATE ME. BRAKE ME. STILL NOT GUILTY. (THE OLA HIDE/INSIDEâŠ)
OLA is NOT a cab service company anymore, OLA is a funny company. OLAâs newly launched âPrime Plusâ is an expensive cab service (feature) where theyâre claiming to give cleaner cars, better drivers & no-cancellations policy.
Wait a minuteâŠ
Isnât this what Ola was supposed to do in the first place? If you circle back to your bare minimum idea that you climbed these huge inflated valuations on, then whatâs the reflection youâre trying to portray?
And what this justifies âOLAâ stand for right now?
Bad and untidy cars,
Bad-behaviour drivers
who will call you, and ask you what money is being displayed on your app and whatâs the mode of payment & CANCEL. Why? No customer satisfaction. Only convenience.
Funny.
It's just an attempt to keep the boat afloat. A business operates on the exchange of prices; the cost they bear by making and running a cab service platform doesn't confirm customer satisfaction.
They forget the basic business-building rules: Profitability + Customer satisfaction. This is their second attempt to hold the front with Ola Electric.
There's no hate, but rather a line of questioning to give them a realistic picture of how businesses are established and run in India. Only time will tell...
Still NOT Guilty.
~vivan.