Photos show production issues impacting Ola’s first electric scooter

Ola’s first electric scooter customers share worrying photos of production quality concerns

Electrek.co by Micah Toll

[{"selector":"#anim-05bf7d79-27b3-4a47-b6d2-b7e54a68824c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Ola’s S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters were supposed to revolutionize the electric scooter industry.

[{"selector":"#anim-ea5f6657-ee80-49fe-b2a3-11630a9f8995","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] But now many of the first owners to receive their new scooters are sharing worrying details about quality concerns.

[{"selector":"#anim-3c514003-e4c1-40a2-8dc3-086e1abf73da","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Ola’s electric scooters were unveiled with an industry-shaking combination of low cost and high performance.

[{"selector":"#anim-774ededc-a940-42b1-95f1-e4de1bb185b8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The scooters are capable of speeds reaching between 60-70 mph (100-115 km/h), yet start at prices equivalent to around $1,050.

[{"selector":"#anim-f2f5998f-c278-478b-8648-c05a2c277ae2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The scooters sold like hotcakes when orders opened earlier this year, with sales reaching four scooters per second at one point.

[{"selector":"#anim-2e919161-aa7d-4506-ba50-5c515ed9bbd2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Currently only available in the company’s domestic market of India, Ola has announced plans to enter international markets including the US by as early as next year.

[{"selector":"#anim-0b9635d5-fdc9-4551-a412-1baee3ac5cf3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Despite running behind schedule on production, Ola recently began delivering its electric scooters to the first reservation holders.

[{"selector":"#anim-d0490665-feec-43e4-a11d-9881b4c0b151","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-eb02747f-46b4-4f90-a620-f727710f8bc0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The scooters came with a fancy, high-tech design, but now we’re seeing an increasing number of complaints from early owners about quality issues. Image via @leovarmak on Twitter

[{"selector":"#anim-12b18675-1b2c-4a4c-9434-8f7f4b1befc1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] See more photos of Ola's scooter production quality issues and read Electrek's take at Electrek.co.