Govt Shuts Down 75 Ola Electric Stores In Maharashtra Operating Without Trade Certificates

Ola Electric, India’s leading electric vehicle (EV) player, is once again in trouble as it is facing action from the Maharashtra government and a wave of layoffs.

Ola Electric under fire

The Maharashtra government has put Ola Electric dealers under scrutiny because of malpractices regarding trade certificates.

The authorities are directed to close any store or service centre of Ola Electric operating under an RTO without a trade certificate.

Maharashtra's joint transport commissioner addressed Bengaluru-based EV maker’s issue of trade certificate, saying, "Action should be taken to close that centre, and the original trade certificate should be cancelled." [Source: NDTV Profit]

The statement has been taken from an email dated 16 April 2025. The RTOs had one day to act and report the closures.

The report also shared quotes of an Ola Electric representative saying, "Your claims regarding our stores in Maharashtra are speculative, incorrect, and misplaced." They further added, "We continue to work closely with the concerned authorities in Maharashtra to address any specific queries or concerns."

Ola Electric's issues in Maharashtra began in early March when 146 stores were inspected in Mumbai and Pune for trade certificates, and 121 were found operating without a trade certificate. 75 of them have been closed down so far.

On 31 March, the Maharashtra transport department issued a notice to Bhavish Aggarwal’s company asking for an explanation about the absence of this important document.

In response, the electric two-wheeler company stated that currently it is in the process of applying for trade certificates for all its locations in the state.

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Ola layoffs 

At the same time, Bhavish Aggarwal’s company is undergoing significant internal changes.

Reports suggest that over 1,000 employees might have been laid off in recent weeks, affecting teams across engineering, R&D, procurement, customer support, and charging infrastructure.

This comes just months after a round of 500 job cuts.

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