The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries on Wednesday asked the Automotive Research Association of India, a vehicle testing agency operating under it, to look into allegations of consumer rights violations by Ola Electric, reported The Times of India.
The electric scooter manufacturer is a beneficiary of at least two of the Union government’s incentive schemes for electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption.
The direction came after the Central Consumer Protection Authority issued a show-cause notice to Ola Electric for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. The show-cause notice was based on 9,948 complaints from consumers received on the National Consumer Helpline between September 1, 2023, and August 30, 2024.
The alleged violations include billing consumers during the company’s free service period, and delays in vehicle delivery and repairs.
“Ola Electric is a beneficiary under the scheme whose eligibility criteria under FAME-II [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles] and PM E-DRIVE has been issued by ARAI [Automotive Research Association of India],” the ministry said in a letter to the testing agency. “Therefore, you are required to provide your comments on the issue to MHI [Ministry of Heavy Industries] at an early date.”
The ministry also noted that under the two incentive schemes, every vehicle manufacturer must have enough service centres that can adequately address customer concerns. These companies, including Ola Electric, are required to offer warranties as part of these programs.
Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told The Times of India that Ola Electric had failed to address complaints that had been registered with the National Consumer Helpline of the Central Consumer Protection Authority as much as one year ago.
Ola Electric Chief Financial Officer Harish Abichandani said in a regulatory filing that the company would respond to the consumer rights body soon.
The Centre’s instructions to the Automotive Research Association came amid mounting troubles for the Bengaluru-headquartered firm, whose share prices tanked more than 8% on Monday. This happened after its founder and Chief Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal got embroiled in an online spat with comedian Kunal Kamra.
The argument between Aggarwal and Kamra was sparked by Kamra’s post on Sunday, showing several scooters manufactured by Ola Electric gathering dust outside a company facility. “Do Indian consumers have a voice?” the comedian asked, accusing the company of poor servicing.
Kamra also tagged Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in his social media post, asking if this was how Indians would embrace electric vehicles. He also invited Ola Electric customers to share their experiences with the company.
In response, Aggarwal accused Kamra of having posted a “paid Tweet”.
Aggarwal also claimed that his company was swiftly expanding its service network and would soon tackle pending service requests.
Kamra shot back, calling Aggarwal “arrogant and substandard”.
As their exchange went viral, thousands of Ola Electric customers expressed their frustrations online over delayed service and inadequate after-sales support.
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