Govt seeks Ola Electric plan to fix service network gaps

Heavy industries ministry earlier sought clarity on gap between sales outlets, service centres

- Ayaan Kartik & Manas Pimpalkhare

The government has sought more details from Ola Electric Mobility Ltd on how the battery-powered scooter maker intends to expand its inadequate service network after the company's initial response did not satisfy the authorities. The heavy industries ministry has inquired about why there's a gap between the number of sales stores and service centres despite the company's public claims that all its outlets offer after-sales services, said two people aware of the matter.

Last month, the ministry had asked Ola Electric to clarify the variation in the sales reported by the company and the registration of its new scooters on the Vahan portal. Besides, it entrusted the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) to verify Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal's claims of all its 4,000-odd showrooms having service centres to take care of customer complaints. "A reply was shared with the ministry saying that about 1,400 service centres are ready, which can cater to a large share of customers for now," a company executive aware of the matter said.