Ola to refund money to S1 Pro customers who purchased chargers

-  Ola to refund Rs 130 crore to customers 

-  The company was charging separately for chargers 

-   FAME subsidies irregularities under probe 

Ola Electric has decided to return the money its customers had to pay separately for the chargers. The company had earned close to Rs. 130 crore by selling just off-board chargers.

According to a report, ARAI intended to take action against Ola Electric. However, it is planning not to pursue this case as Ola has announced its plans to reimburse the charger price to all customers who purchased the off-board charger as an accessory. The same report suggested that Ola Electric has been charging its S1 Pro customers for this from 2019 until now.

A few EV companies have been pricing the chargers and additional features separately. This was being done so that the companies could lower the costs of their e-scooters to become eligible for the FAME subsidies. However, this route made some companies cost a few essential parts, like chargers, separately, so they could benefit from overall pricing, thus increasing profitability. 

We expect more such developments as the government has already initiated an investigation into FAME scheme irregularities. In fact, the government had stopped the FAME subsidy payments to many EV companies worth hundreds of crore. This investigation is likely to be completed in the next few months.