Centre asks automotive research body to probe Ola Electric’s alleged consumer rights violations
The direction came after the Central Consumer Protection Authority issued notice to the company for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.
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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....
