Homegrown e-scooter manufacturer, Ola Electric, will be probed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for alleged deficiencies in service standards and product quality after receiving a high volume of consumer complaints, as per a Reuters report.
India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) initially issued a notice to the SoftBank-backed company last month, citing an unexpected spike of nearly 10,000 complaints from customers. Following a review of Ola’s response, the CCPA has now called for a detailed BIS investigation, confirmed by consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare, the report mentioned.
Ola Electric reported that it had addressed 99.1 per cent of the complaints, attributing most of the issues to minor problems such as loose parts or customer unfamiliarity with software features. Founder Bhavish Aggarwal stated that these "minor issues" accounted for about two-thirds of the complaints, suggesting that they were not significant threats to customer satisfaction or vehicle safety.
The sudden surge in complaints has raised concerns within India's regulatory bodies, leading to increased scrutiny of the company's product and service quality. The move to involve BIS comes after Ola’s highly successful stock market debut in August, marking a challenging period for the company as it faces potential reputational risks despite its market-leading position.
(Inputs from Reuters)
