It had to happen. Ola Electric, whose vehicles were caught in the unfortunate fire incidents that affected many other brands of two-wheeler EVs too, is now feeling the backlash. The company, which has earned a bad reputation on social media for brazening out the various problems stalking it out, is now under real real pressure as the new registrations of its vehicles is falling.
According to the VAHAN data, till June 30, 2022, Ola Electric saw 5,869 EV registrations --- a steep fall from its previous month's registrations of 9,225 units of its S1 Pro electric scooter. Ola Electric was the top EV player in the country in April and since then, it has seen its position sliding continuously.
Ola needs to pull ups its socks
That its numbers have dropped alarmingly in a month when it unleashed some typical PR exercise, an event to launch its much-delayed software update MoveOS 2.0 for its S1 Pro e-scooter, should worry Ola Electric. It tried to win some media brownie points by strategically dropping info that it was set to launch an electric car. Though it did not give any specific details of the possible vehicle, the timing of the reveal clearly suggested that the company was trying to shift the focus from the flak it was receiving from the public and media over not just fire incidents but also about the issues of low range, non-charging, range drops, scooter refusing to start, sudden reversing, uncontrolled honking, etc. The continuing dip in registration for two straight months should convey the message to the company that window dressing will no longer work and it should get down to addressing the problems in real earnest.
Meanwhile, the June tally for EV two-wheelers was led by Okinawa Autotech, at 6,976 vehicles, followed by Ampere Vehicles at 6,534. Hero Electric came third with 6,486 EV 2-W registrations. Ather Energy moved up from May to reach 3,797 vehicles, along with Revolt which saw a big leap in registrations to reach 2,419 vehicles for June.
EV companies under fire
It is clear from the overall numbers that the battery fire incidents have made the public wary of two-wheeler EVs. The government had announced two committees after a number of battery-powered scooters went up in flames. The DRDO panel investigating the fire incidents said the electrical two-wheeler makers used defective batteries. The second panel suggested battery-testing standards.
The DRDO committee, which was set up by the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, said that the electric two-wheeler manufacturers cut corners for quick bucks and easy production numbers.
"These defects occurred because the electric two-wheeler manufacturers like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric, and Boom Motors may have used "lower-grade materials to cut costs", the DRDO probe had said. The companies have also been given 30 days until July-end to reply to the notices that the government has slapped on them.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has now issued new performance standards for lithium-ion batteries to safeguard the consumers.
Aside, and worryingly, in the first incident in India involving a four-wheeler EV, a Tata Nexon EV went up in fire close to Mumbai. The transport ministry has ordered a separate investigation into the incident. The company has also ordered one into the same.
