Another Ola S1 Pro's front wheel breaks off: Details here
An incident regarding the front fork of Ola Electric's S1 Pro scooter breaking off has surfaced online. The customer took to Twitter to share his ordeal. To recall, this is the second such incident this month, where the front fork of the electric scooter broke down while on the move. The company is facing criticism over the build quality of its products lately.
Why does this story matter?
Ola Electric had launched its S1 and S1 Pro e-scooters in India last year and garnered nearly one lakh bookings within 24 hours. However, the EV maker has been facing issues such as software glitches, fire-related incidents, lack of customer support, and inferior build quality ever since the deliveries began. The recent incident of the front-end of the vehicle breaking off raises several questions.
The front fork broke off on its own, claims owner
How did the accident happen?
The owner, Priyank Bhardwaj put out a tweet saying, "Yesterday my scooter suddenly broke down on its own because it landed on a speed breaker and immediately there was a sound of crack in it." Bhardwaj claimed that he sustained no injuries and requested Ola Electric to get his scooter repaired soon. He even shared two pictures of his vehicle.
This was Ola's response to the incident
Ola Electric responded to Bhardwaj by quoting, "We're going to connect with you over call shortly, so we can look into this, and get back to you." The company had previously mentioned in an official statement that vehicle safety and quality standards are of paramount importance and that the "reported incidents of front fork breakage are due to isolated high impact accidents."
Ola Electric might be forced to pay penalties
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has already reprimanded electric scooter makers in India including Ola Electric, over incidents that have led to injuries and, in some cases, loss of life. Joint Secretary Giridhar Aramane warned that such cases should not be repeated. However, with the new incident surfacing yesterday, the company may face more trouble from the government, in terms of penalties.
