Ola Electric’s flagship SI series EV scooter has become a nightmare for many customers, who have been encountering problems such as malfunctioning hardware and glitching software right from day one of their purchase.
An angry customer from Agra shared a video on X on Thursday, showing the chaotic state of an Ola Electric service station in the city.
“This is the current situation of Agra Ola electric service station. People are so enraged because no solutions are pro- vided for their problems. Ola electric is fastest growing when it comes to their scooters coming back to service stations for 2-3 months,” the customer posted. Another grieving customer posted on X the reality of Ola Electric.
“Received scooter after month, in more broken and damage conditions what a hard-earned money I promise. @bhash shame on ur fake promise and commitment @OlaElectric”.
According to a media report based on interactions with several such customers, Ola SI scooters are plagued with malfunctioning hardware and glitching software. Spares are hard to come by, resulting in inordinate delays.
An Ola Electric customer Manoj from Chembur here was quoted as saying that he has been making trips to the Ola cen- tre frequently just to keep his scooter running. He spent more than Rs one lakh to purchase the Ola Electric scooter to save money on petrol. “But I frequently visit the company service centre to get my EV scooter fixed,” he said.
Mayur Bhagat, another Ola Electric customer, said, he faced problems in his Ola electric scooter from day one after purchase.
“I purchased the vehicle in July this year. There is a software glitch – the app refuses to connect with the vehicle which hasn’t been fixed despite the company keeping the vehicle for nearly a month. I have no other option but to continue making trips to the service centre”, lamented Bhagat.
“Ola Electric operates its dealership, It is the biggest problem with the compa- ny. If it is handled by franchise partners, the issues would’ve been resolved,” said Bhagat.Ola Electric is based on a direct- to-customer model. The company owns and operates all 500 plus experience centres and 430 service centres across the country. On Thursday, Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric’s stock was trading at 103 apiece in the morning trade, down 35 per cent from its peak.
As per reports, Ola Electric receives around 80,000 complaints monthly, overwhelming its service centres. On peak days, complaints even rise to 6,000-7,000. That resulted in a pile-up and a backlog.