Facing scorching heat, Ola Electric claims 10,500 customer complaints resolved

Ola Electric has resolved more than 10,500 customer complaints it had received from the Central Consumer Protection Agency (CCPA). The EV maker, which has been facing backlash over its shoddy after-sales services, delayed delivery of electric scooters and inaccurate invoices, has claimed it has addressed more than 99 per cent of the complaints successfully. The EV maker's statement comes two weeks after CCPA, India's consumer watchdog, had issued a show-cause notice to Ola over alleged violation of consumer rights, misleading advertisement and unfair trade practices.

Ola Electric has been in the eye of storm triggered by its unsatisfied customers on social media platforms over past several months. It was amplified further by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra who engaged with Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO at Ola Electric, in a war of words on social media over the EV maker's after-sales and service quality. The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) had flagged complaints raised by customers against Ola Electric for the last one year which did not yield any satisfactory response from the company. This led the Centre to order CCPA to conduct an audit.

Ola Electric's response to CCPA notice on customer complaints

On Tuesday (October 22), the 15-day deadline set by CCPA for Ola to respond to its show-cause notice ended. A day before, Ola Electric issued a statement during stock exchange filing that read, "We wish to emphasise that out of 10,644 complaints that we received from the CCPA, 99.1 per cent of the complaints were resolved to the complete satisfaction of the customer as per Ola Electric’s robust redressal mechanism." Nearly one third of all these complaints were regarding Ola's slow service and repairs. Delayed deliveries, misleading marketing strategies, unavailability of spare parts and unfulfilled service promises were some of the other key complaints against Ola Electric.

How Ola Electric plans to pacify disgruntled customers

In an effort to improve its after-sales service, India's leading electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric has roped in global consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) for assistance. According to a report, EY is expected to assist Ola in revamping its after-sales services, streamlining processes as well as manage spare parts and inventory for the next three months.

Ola Electric had earlier assured that it will take corrective measures to address the concerns raised by customers. One of the key steps assured by the EV maker is to ramp up production at its facility to deal with delivery timelines. It has also promised to enhance its after-sales service with several measures. It has promised to expand its service network to 1,000 centres by December this year, almost double of what it currently has. It also plans to train over one lakh third-party mechanics to increase number of service personnel to address customer complaints.

Controversy taking a toll on Ola's dominance?

Ola Electric had launched its maiden IPO in August this year. However, it has been witnessing steady decline in its share prices as well as market share amid the ongoing controversy. Ola shares are continue to be down today after the EV maker saw a decline of nearly 48 per cent in share prices from the high of ₹157.40.

Ola Electric sells three versions of its electric scooters which include the S1 X, S1 Air and S1 Pro. All these models have been offered at discounted rates this season. According to the Vahan portal, Ola Electric has already registered 15,672 electric two-wheelers till October 14 as in on track to beat its September sales figure of 23,965 electric scooters.

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