After receiving a show cause notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) following nearly ten thousand customer complaints, Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric is now under the scanner of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, which has sought comments from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).
The ARAI is the testing agency for government initiatives aimed at promoting the use of electric vehicles, and it also issues eligibility certificates under these schemes, namely the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) and PM E-Drive, which recently replaced FAME-II. Ola Electric is a beneficiary of the PM E-Drive scheme, which provides demand subsidies on the purchase of electric two-wheelers. Its electric scooters – S1 Pro, S1 Air, and S1 X – are eligible for subsidies.
“As per FAME II and PM E-Drive scheme, each OEM is required to maintain service centres to attend to customer issues. Further, a warranty is also provided under these two schemes by all OEMs, including Ola Electric,” the ministry said in a letter to the ARAI. Our sister publication, Autocar Professional, has seen the letter. On Monday, the CCPA issued the show cause notice to Ola Electric, giving it 15 days to respond to charges of violating consumer rights, engaging in unfair trade practices and issuing misleading advertisements.
According to the National Consumer Helpline portal, of the nearly 10,000 complaints received, the most common issues raised by consumers were about service and repair delays, totalling 3,664. There are approximately 1,899 complaints about delays in new vehicle deliveries and 1,459 complaints about promised services that were not delivered.