‘Ola toh Ola hai, Chetak shola hai’: Rajiv Bajaj takes dig at Ola Electric

Bajaj Auto's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rajiv Bajaj took a swipe at rival Ola on Saturday, December 7, noting that the Bajaj Chetak was now the largest-selling EV scooter in India. The EV has sold more than 3,00,000 units to date, and the company is presently gearing up for the launch of a new model of the Bajaj Chetak on December 20. 

“Ola to Ola hai, Chetak to shola hai,” Bajaj jibed during a recent award ceremony, citing Vahan data.

The two-wheeler manufacturer won the ‘Outstanding Company of the Year’ prize at the recent CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards. 

Bajaj Auto Ltd shares closed 2.3 per cent higher at ₹9,107.60 after Friday's market session, compared to ₹8,903.15 at the previous market session. 

Bajaj also mentioned his son Rishab, who has been part of the Chetak EV team for the past 2.5 years. He said Rishab mentioned citing Vahan registration data and that Chetak had become the largest-selling EV scooter, compared to its third-largest level earlier.

“My son Rishabh who has been part of the Electric Chetak team for the past 2.5 years told me this morning that based of December VAHAN registration data, our electric scooter Chetak is now the largest selling electric scooter, not third largest, in the country. So, the award could not be better timed,” Bajaj told CNBC-TV18 during the award ceremony

Market share battle

Ola Electric led the electric two-wheeler market with close to 24.5 per cent market share in November, even though the company's retail sales fell 30 per cent compared month-on-month and 2 per cent, year-on-year, reported the news portal Moneycontrol. 

The CNBC-TV18 report also cited Vahan registration data; Ola Electric led the market share race with 27,746 registrations in November, securing 25.09 per cent in India's EV market. TVS came close behind Ola at 23.55 per cent market share, coming in at 26,036 registrations, and Bajaj Auto came third at 22.59 per cent market share with 24,978 registrations as of last month.

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. shares closed 2.69 per cent lower at ₹95.85 after Friday's market session, compared to ₹98.50 at the previous market close.