A 26-year-old man, identified as Mohammad Nadeem, was arrested for allegedly setting fire to an Ola Electric showroom in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, after unsatisfactory servicing of his recently purchased e-scooter, police said on Wednesday.
The incident is a stark reflection of growing public dissatisfaction with the servicing standards at Ola Electric, India’s leading e-scooter manufacturer.
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Nadeem, a mechanic by profession, bought the e-scooter just last month and began facing issues shortly after the purchase. Despite multiple visits to the Ola service centre, he was reportedly unhappy with the response.
“The (servicing) response was not good, he went multiple times. Yesterday (Tuesday), when he went, he carried petrol and set fire to six bikes,” said Sharanappa S.D., the commissioner of police for Kalaburagi. The police estimate the damage to the showroom to be worth Rs 8,50,000. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Ola Electric Faces Backlog
This incident comes at a time when Ola Electric is grappling with significant service backlogs across its 431 service stations nationwide. Several mechanics have expressed concerns about the mounting volume of complaints and the difficulty in handling them.
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The company, which recently made its debut on the stock exchanges, has yet to respond to the incident.
Rising Frustration Among Consumers
Ola Electric’s rapid rise in the electric vehicle market has been accompanied by increasing scrutiny over its after-sales service. Public ire is growing, with customers reporting delays and inadequate service quality. Nadeem’s case, while extreme, highlights the frustrations faced by many consumers.
