On an average, Ola Electric receives around 80,000 complaints per month which can sometimes go up to 6,000-7,000 per day
Ola Electric, the Bengaluru based electric scooter manufacturer has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sales have been dwindling while customer complaints mount to new heights each month. Customers have taken to social media vent their ire in terms of delayed service response with repair wait times ranging from 30 to 45 days.
Ola Electric Customer Dissatisfaction
One such customer also set the company’s showroom on fire in Kalaburagi city in Karnataka. The customer cited dire lack of support for his recently purchased e-scooter and lower response from the service team. This incident however, caused Rs 8,50,000 worth of damages while luckily no one was hurt during the fire.
A new report reveals, Ola Electric that offers the S1 e-scooter in three variants- S1X (2kWh), S1X and S1X Plus, receives around 80,000 customer complaints per month. It can also go up to 6,000-7,000 per day. In a bid to tackle these grievances, the company has set up a new team with special focus on after sales service operations. This new team consists of employees from other departments such as production and operations.
Ola Electric has sold 6,80,000 electric scooters since its inception. It currently operates via 430 service stations across India. However, with complaints pouring in, the waiting period for repairs stretches to 30-45 days while a lack of customer support has related to much discontentment among customers.
One particular customer had his e-scooter stuck at a service center for 2-3 months. He cited issues such as the stand sensor problem that took 3 months to resolve. Other issues such as battery failure, range reduction and wheel jamming were also a part of these complaints. The Delhi service center at Najafgarh Road has been labelled the “graveyard of scooters”. The center is grossly understaffed with only 4 service personnel tackling repairs as against a need for a strength of 10 service teams.
Ola Electric Lower Sales
Along with growing customer complaints, the company has also reported lower sales in Aug 2024. Its S1 series recorded lowest monthly sales volumes, falling 34% in July 2024 to 27,506 units. Market share of the company also declined to 31% from an earlier 39% share in the electric two wheeler segment. On the other hand, competitors such as Bajaj Auto with the Chetak e-scooter (20% share) and TVS Motor with the iQube (19% share) have cited increased demand.
Despite falling sales and customer complaints, Ola Electric is going full steam ahead in its future endeavours. The company announced its first electric motorcycles the Roadster, offered in Roadster Pro, Roadster, and Roadster X variants. Deliveries are set to commence from next year.
Ola Electric also plans to diversify into the 3 wheeler segment as a test mule of their electric three wheeler rickshaw was spied in Bengaluru for the first time. This e3W will be offered in electric auto rickshaw and electric 3W cargo vehicle and is likely to be called Ola Raahi. Ola Electric also introduced India 4680 ‘Bharat’ battery cell which promises faster charging and more energy storage. This cell is currently under trial production at Ola’s Gigafactory.
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