Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal took to the microblogging site ‘X’ on Friday to give advice to EV companies that invest heavily in marketing and advertisements.
Bhavish Aggarwal asked companies to save money on ‘cute’ ads and rather invest in supply chains to boost sales.
“I see some EV companies trying to make ‘cute’ ads in a bid to grow their stagnant sales,” he posted.
He added that investment in technology and supply chains would lower product costs.
“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 posted.
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
Bhavish Aggarwal’s comments come after Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath took a light-hearted dig at Ather Energy’s marketing strategy. Kamath appreciated Ather products for their quality but called out their inefficient marketing strategy.
“Everyone of us has pluses and minuses, Ather has sh*t marketing but great product (sorry Tarun),” Kamath posted on X. Kamath, however, stated that product quality takes precedence over marketing.
“Will pick great products with terrible marketing every time, sales I hope can be solved for easier than product,” he said.
#Patriotism is a different thing to different people, mine today seems to be to dream of young Indian products and entrepreneurs killing it inside and outside India. Enough of the foreign franchise is better, clothes, jewellery, food, auto, content, shoes, and just about… pic.twitter.com/trYDpJnujj
— Nikhil Kamath (@nikhilkamathcio) July 8, 2024
India’s EV sector has major players such as Ola Electric, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy, TVS Motor Co and Hero Moto Corp.
According to a Mint report on March 11, Ola Electric is the biggest market player in the sector, with a share of 42.3 percent. Other players include TVS Motor Co, with a share of 17.5 percent, Bajaj Auto, with a share of 15.2 percent, and Ather Energy, with a share of 10.4 percent.
However, the electric two-wheeler market in India has seen subdued volumes in the last three months. Registrations for high-speed electric two-wheelers declined by 27 percent in May compared to the previous year’s high base, according to a Mint report on June 11.
Ola Electric is all set to debut in the stock market this year. The market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), approved Ola Electric’s IPO in June, with a primary issue of ₹5,500 crore and a secondary sale of ₹1,750 crore, making it the first EV startup to get the regulator’s nod to raise capital.
