Ola EVs face battery issues

Despite concerns around the battery overheating, the company is pressing hard to meet the 15 December delivery deadline.

14 December, 202120 min
0
Ola EVs face battery issues

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Tomorrow, 15 December, is the day Ola Electric has promised to start delivering its S1 and S1 Pro scooters to its customers. The scooters, however, are nowhere near complete. The main problem is with the batteries. They are overheating, in a factory test environment. Ola Electric’s manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu has produced nearly 100 scooters every day but many failed the quality assurance test, forcing Ola to stop production for three to four days last week, according to three former executives. Finally, on Friday, 10 December, the company began production again, at full throttle. “It seems they will deliver the scooters, but Bhavish [Aggarwal] is taking a huge risk,” says one of the former executives, all of whom requested anonymity. “A battery malfunction can put passengers at risk and run the entire EV sector to the ground.” Battery science is at the heart of an electric vehicle. It deserves and demands patience. The one thing that Ola and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal do not have right now.  Ola Electric appears to be in a tearing hurry to get the scooters …

You may also like

Business
Story image

Ten business developments for 2026

Who’s going to lead the IPO party, what’s going to drive the market, where are some of the leading businesses headed, and more.

Internet
Story image

Preparing for 2026

Subjects expected to dominate our conversation in the new year and some reflection on things that happened in 2025, now that it is almost behind us.

Business
Story image

How India’s retail shareholders are being left holding the can

Swiggy and Ola Electric’s plans to return to the public markets soon after big-bang IPOs leave investors with dilution, little prospect of returns and plenty of questions.