Ola Electric just became the first Indian EV maker to sell 10 lakh units. That’s 10,00,846 scooters, to be exact. Bhavish Aggarwal tweeted about it. The PR machine fired up. And absolutely nobody who follows this industry was impressed.

Because selling 10 lakh scooters over five years while burning through thousands of crores, losing your CFO, watching your stock crater 86%, and dropping out of the top five sellers in your own category? That’s not a milestone. That’s a warning sign printed on a trophy.

The Numbers Behind the Celebration

Let’s look at what Ola doesn’t want you to focus on. In Q3 FY26, Ola sold just 32,000 units. Compare that to Q1 FY26: 1,25,000 units. That’s not a dip. That’s a 74% collapse in two quarters.

February 2026 registrations? Just 3,968 units. Market share? 3.5%. TVS, Bajaj, Ather, Hero, Ampere… all of them are now selling more electric scooters than Ola. The company that once owned 30%+ of the e-scooter market can’t even hold the fifth spot anymore.

Revenue tanked 55% year-on-year. The net loss widened to ₹487 crore in a single quarter. And Emkay Global, which used to have a Buy rating on the stock, slashed its target by 60% to ₹20 and slapped a Sell on it. Their actual words? “Doubts on survival.”

Survival. Not profitability. Survival.

Ola Electric’s 10 Lakh Sales Don’t Mean What You Think

A cumulative number is a vanity metric. Every automaker crosses sales milestones eventually if they stay alive long enough. Maruti sells 10 lakh cars in a year. The question isn’t how many scooters Ola has moved. It’s how many it’s moving right now. And that answer is brutal.

The stock tells the real story. From a peak of ₹157 in August 2024 to ₹24 today. An 86% crash. Retail investors who bought during the IPO hype have lost serious money. This isn’t market volatility, yaar. This is the market saying it doesn’t believe in the story anymore.

The Service Problem That Ate the Brand

Look, the S1 Pro was genuinely a good product when it worked. Decent range, fun to ride, priced right. But Ola scaled manufacturing before it had the service infrastructure to support it. Classic startup move: grow first, fix later.

10,644 complaints landed at the CCPA. The consumer protection authority questioned Ola’s claim of “99.1% resolution rate” and launched a probe. Real owners, not Twitter trolls, shared stories of scooters sitting at service centres for weeks. Panels cracking. Software glitches. Waiting months for replacement parts.

A friend in Bangalore booked an Ola S1 in early 2025. Took delivery, loved it for three months. Then the motor controller failed. The service centre? A 40-minute drive away. The repair time? “We’ll get back to you, sir.” Three weeks later he bought a TVS iQube and hasn’t looked back.

That’s not an isolated story. That IS the story.

TVS Did What Ola Couldn’t

While Ola was busy fighting with comedians on Twitter and celebrating vanity milestones, TVS quietly became India’s number one electric scooter brand. Nearly 3 lakh units in a single year. 43% growth in January 2026 alone.

TVS didn’t promise revolution. It promised reliability. Walk into any TVS showroom in a tier-2 city, Indore, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, and there’s a service centre right there. The iQube isn’t the most exciting scooter you’ll ride. But it starts every morning, the company picks up your call, and the part arrives on time.

In India, boring reliability beats exciting unreliability. Every single time.

The Subsidy Cliff Is Coming

Here’s what makes this even worse for Ola. The PM E-DRIVE subsidy for electric two-wheelers ends this month, March 2026. That means from April, the effective price of Ola scooters goes up unless Ola absorbs the cost themselves. With ₹487 crore quarterly losses, how long can they keep subsidising prices from their own pocket?

TVS and Bajaj have the margins from their ICE business to cushion this. Ola has… what exactly? More cash burn? Another round of fundraising while the stock sits at ₹24?

Guruji’s Take

Don’t buy an Ola scooter right now. Sach mein, the Gen 3 platform shows genuine engineering talent. But a scooter purchase is a 5-7 year commitment and you need to trust that the company will exist and support it throughout that period. Right now, Ola hasn’t earned that trust.

If you want an electric scooter today, the TVS iQube is the safest bet. Strong service network, proven reliability, and a parent company that isn’t going anywhere. Bajaj Chetak is solid too. Ather if you want something sportier.

As for Ola? Let them prove they can stop the bleeding first. Your ₹1.2 lakh is too hard-earned to be a bet on someone else’s turnaround story.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ola Electric still worth buying in 2026?

Ola Electric is facing serious challenges in 2026 with sales declining 74% from Q1 to Q3 FY26, market share dropping to 3.5%, and ongoing service complaints. While the scooters themselves offer decent specs, the after-sales experience and company stability make it a risky purchase right now. Consider TVS iQube or Bajaj Chetak for more reliable ownership.

Why did Ola Electric stock crash in 2026?

Ola Electric’s stock crashed 86% from its peak of ₹157.53 to around ₹24 due to plunging sales volumes, a 55% YoY revenue decline, quarterly losses of ₹487 crore, and the CFO’s resignation. Analyst firm Emkay downgraded the stock to Sell with a ₹20 target, citing “doubts on survival.”

How many scooters has Ola Electric sold in total?

Ola Electric crossed 10 lakh cumulative sales on March 23, 2026, becoming the first Indian EV maker to reach this milestone. But current monthly sales have collapsed to under 4,000 units from over 40,000 units a year ago, and Ola has dropped out of India’s top five electric two-wheeler sellers.

Is TVS iQube better than Ola S1 Pro in 2026?

TVS iQube has overtaken Ola as India’s best-selling electric scooter, selling nearly 3 lakh units in a year with 43% growth. While the Ola S1 Pro offers sportier specs, the TVS iQube wins on reliability, service network availability across tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and significantly fewer consumer complaints.

What happens to Ola Electric scooter prices after PM E-DRIVE subsidy ends?

The PM E-DRIVE subsidy for electric two-wheelers ends in March 2026, which means Ola scooter prices will effectively increase from April unless the company absorbs the difference. With Ola already losing ₹487 crore per quarter, sustaining price subsidies from their own pocket is unlikely long-term.