E-Paper
Ola Electric faces govt probe amid complaints over service standards
In an earnings call earlier, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal had said the customer complaints were mostly related to “minor issues”
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will probe Ola Electric, the country’s largest maker of e-scooters, for deficient services and product quality, an official said on Thursday.
The national certification agency, an arm of the Union consumer affairs ministry, has been asked by the statutory Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to investigate whether the EV maker had resolved a wave of complaints and if standards related to customer services and products were being followed.
ALSO READ- PM Modi slams Congress over Jharkhand leader's 'LPG to infiltrators' promise
The move comes after CCPA’s notice to Ola Electric last month, seeking a response from the SoftBank-backed company over more than 10,000 complaints from customers on the National Consumer Helpline. Ola Electric did not immediately respond to a query requesting a comment.
ALSO READ- ‘Socioeconomic equality is the key, not caste divisions’: Nitin Gadkari
Angry customers recently took to social media to complain about poor services, delays and repair issues related to Ola Electric’s e-scooters. In October, the EV maker was in the news after a social-media spat between its founder and a standup comedian over deficient services.
According to the official cited above, BIS has been instructed to submit a report within 15 days into Ola Electric’s after-sales services. Ola, which has a 27% market share, disclosed to stock exchanges last month that it received a notice for “alleged violation of consumer rights” from CCPA.
ALSO READ- Delhi pollution: Primary schools to switch to online classes, announces CM
In an earnings call last week, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal had said the customer complaints were mostly related to “minor issues” and some had to do with a lack of full knowledge about the e-scooter’s technology.
Headquartered in Bangalore, Ola Electric operates the country’s largest integrated and automated manufacturing plant, with R&D facilities in India, UK and US, including a Battery Innovation Centre. In a recent regulatory filing, Ola Electric said it had resolved almost all complaints lodged with the CCPA.
