Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal advises India’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers to prioritize investment in sales not ‘cute ads’. He believes the budget has been focused on creating attractive advertisements rather than addressing decreasing sales.
According to a report by Mint, the electric vehicle (EV) two-wheeler market in India has faced a decline in sales over the last three months. Specifically, registrations for EV two-wheelers fell by 27% in May compared to the same period in the previous year. This downturn highlights challenges within the sector, potentially influenced by various factors such as market dynamics, consumer preferences, and economic conditions impacting purchasing decisions.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Bhavish Aggarwal highlighted the importance of supply chain and manufacturing in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. He suggested that instead of using significant resources in marketing and sales, EV manufacturers should focus on investing in their supply chains and technological advancements.
I see some EV companies trying to make ‘cute’ ads in a bid to grow their stagnant sales.
Pro tip for them: Electric vehicles is a supply chain and manufacturing business. Save the marketing and sales ₹₹ and invest it into supply chains and tech to lower your product costs.
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) July 12, 2024
Bhavesh Aggarwal’s statement was followed by comments made by Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha and an investor in Ather Energy, who teased a competitor of Ola in the EV scooter sector on Instagram and X.
“Every one of us has pluses and minuses, Ather has sh*t marketing but great product (sorry Tarun). PS: I bought this scooter at MRP, Tarun (Mehta) didn’t even give me a discount,” Kamath jokingly said on X.
Ather’s CEO Tarun Mehta responded to Nikhil Kamath’s remarks in a lighthearted manner by posting on X (formerly Twitter), using the famous meme featuring Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar. This response added a humorous touch to the ongoing joke within the EV industry, showing a playful yet competitive atmosphere among industry leaders.
“Marketing team be like ‘isko discount hi de dena chahiye tha (we should’ve given him a discount)’,” he wrote.
