Ola Calls EV Accident Isolated, Blames Incident On High Impact

Days after one of its ebikes was involved in an accident, electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Ola Electric has called the incident ‘isolated’ that was caused due to high impact.

“Our preliminary investigation into the recent incident and our analysis has revealed that this was a case of a very high impact road accident. We are in touch with the customer and have extended all necessary support to the family. We are happy to share that the rider is safe and recovering,” Ola said in a statement.

In a tweet last week, which has now been deleted, a user complained that his wife was admitted to the hospital after the front wheel of her Ola S1 scooter came off while riding. 

In the statement, Ola Electric said, “We have more than 150,000 vehicles running on the road, and we have observed this in extremely isolated cases of high impact accidents involving the front fork arm, which is designed with a factor of safety that is 80% higher than typical loads encountered on vehicles.”

The EV major has offered to get the scooters of their users checked through their service network in a bid to ‘alleviate any concerns’. The EV player also claimed that its scooters followed all vehicle safety and quality standards. 

This is not the first time that Ola Electric has grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In March last year, a fire incident involving one of Ola Electric’s EVs set off a chain reaction of multiple reports of ebikes catching fire.

Such was the situation that Ola had to recall many of its vehicles, and the union government issued warning to the erring EV players to get their act together and instituted a slew of guidelines to prevent EV fires and strengthen safety standards. 

Besides, Ola Electric has also been in the line of fire for multiple accidents involving its EVs. In May, a user from Guwahati alleged that his son met with an accident due to some fault in the Ola S1 Pro’s regenerative braking system. 

Subsequently, the EV manufacturer reportedly sent legal notices to the user to delete the ‘negative comments’. 

A spate of such incidents have raised eyebrows and questions about the safety and efficacy of EV vehicles. Despite the fire incidents and accidents, 2022 turned out to be a year for EV manufacturers. 

EV two-wheeler registrations grew 400% year-on-year (YoY) to 6.2 Lakh units in 2022, compared to a mere 1.5 Lakh units in 2021. 

Led by production linked incentives (PLIs) and government subsidies, the space has seen rapid adoption and the emergence of many players such as Ather, Ola Electric, PureEV, and Okinawa. 

As per a report, the total market size of the Indian EV space was estimated to be around $383.5 Mn back in 2021. This number is projected to soar to $152.21 Bn by 2030.