News reports have appeared in various medias that a 26-year-old Ola Electric customer has set on fire an Ola Electric showroom in Kalaburagi (Karnataka) after his 20-day old electric scooter of the respective brand kept giving trouble. It lay unrepaired, the reports have stated, which infuriated the customer. 

An altercation with the Ola Electric dealership staff is said to have led to an escalation in the situation where the e-scooter owner poured petrol and set the dealership on fire. 

Instances of customer fury are not new to Ola Electric, neither is controversy. A group of customers in Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra) are known to have shuttered an Ola dealership in their city sometime ago owing to concerns about extended repair durations and lengthy waiting hours. The company, as per the media reports, was forced to shut down the showroom. 

Instances of the front fork of Ola e-scooter fracturing while riding haven’t been rare either. These have led to accidents and injuries. It took some time for Ola Electric to offer a solution of a new fork design. 

For all the hype the Ola Electric’s young founder Bhavish Aggarwal has created as well as continues to create with announcements such as the indigenous ‘Bharat’ battery cell manufacture and introduction of three e-motorcycles early next year, customer satisfaction seems to be an Achilles hill all the while. 

The Kalaburagi incident is certain to add a negative impression about the company’s only product line, the S1 e-scooter. Claimed to have shelved its plans to manufacture electric autonomous passenger vehicle, Ola Electric’s founder recently attracted a controversy as he announced during a company event that his company is the world’s fourth largest electric vehicle company not including China. 

A case has been registered against the Ola Electric e-scooter customer in the Kalaburagi police station. 

In another development, the shares of Ola Electric Mobility Ltd traded with losses of up to four-percent on 9 September 2024, according to a report by Hormaz Fatakia in CNBCTV18.com. It was on 9 September 2024 that the one-month share lock-in period ended. 

One of the reasons behind this performance was attributed to the company losing its market share to two-wheeler majors like TVS Motor Company, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp. 

Ola Electric’s market share dropped to 32 percent in August as established players like TVS and Bajaj gained into the electric scooter market share, holding a share of 19 percent each. 

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Ola Electric has announced the commencement of mass deliveries of its 4680 Bharat Cell-powered vehicles. The S1 Pro+ 5.2 kWh is the first product to be powered by the company’s indigenously manufactured 4680 Bharat Cell battery pack, which delivers more range, better performance and enhanced safety.

With its own battery packs in the vehicles, Ola Electric is now India's first company to fully own the battery pack and cell manufacturing process in-house.

The S1 Pro+ 5.2 kWh is powered by a 13 kW motor, offering acceleration of zero to 40 kmph in just 2.1 seconds. It comes with an impressive 320 km range (IDC with DIY mode).

The S1 Pro+ features four riding modes (Hyper, Sports, Normal and Eco) and also offers enhanced safety with category-first dual ABS and disk brakes in the front and rear. It also gets enhanced ergonomics and comfort, a two-tone seat with supportive foam, body-coloured mirrors, a die-cast aluminium grab handle, rim decals and an expanded colour palette comprising Passion Red, Porcelain White, Industrial Silver, Jet Black, Stellar Blue and Midnight Blue.

“The excitement for S1 Pro+ has been phenomenal. Deliveries are now in full swing, and customers are proudly riding India’s first scooters powered by our own 4680 Bharat Cell. This is a big moment, not just for Ola, but for India’s journey towards becoming a global EV hub. With the national rollout starting soon, we are now ready to take this breakthrough product and technology to every corner of the country,” an Ola Electric spokesperson said.

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CATL and Stellantis broke ground on a EUR 4.1 billion battery plant in Figueruelas, Spain, on 26 November. The 50:50 joint venture will produce lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells and targets an annual production capacity of 50 GW/h.

The project, which is Spain’s largest battery factory, is backed by over EUR 300 million in EU funds, with production expected to start in late 2026.

According to unions, around 2,000 Chinese workers will help construct the site, a point of contention with local authorities and residents. Also, 3,000 Spanish staff are to be hired and trained later.

Spanish authorities and residents have voiced concerns about job opportunities for local workers and potential strain from the influx of foreign employees. CATL Vice President Meng Xiangfeng said earlier in November the company needed experienced technicians to build and fine-tune production lines, with plans to train local workers to take over operations gradually.

David Romeral, Director General of CAAR Aragon, a network of automotive businesses in the region, said: “We don’t know this technology, these components – we’ve never made them before. They’re years ahead of us. All we can do is watch and learn.”

The regional government is organising work permits for arriving workers while seeking to attract battery supply chain companies to Aragon. Some Chinese technicians and managers have already arrived, with several hundred more expected by year-end and nearly 2,000 by the end of next year.

CATL’s approach contrasts with its Hungarian site in Debrecen, where it hired mostly locals to build its European plant. However, a lack of local workers caused production to be delayed from late 2025 into mid-2026. The Figueruelas facility will serve as CATL’s third European manufacturing operation, alongside the Hungarian plant and one in Germany.

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Neuron Energy, an EV battery manufacturer, has raised INR 310 million in a Pre-Series B funding round led by Equanimity Ventures, Rajiv Dadlani Group, Thackersay Family Office and Chona Family Office, with participation from Family Offices and HNI investors. With this, Neuron Energy has raised INR 810 million to date.

The funding will be used to expand Neuron Energy’s manufacturing capacity to 3 GWh and to establish a fully automated, large-scale battery facility for electric four-wheelers and buses at Chakan, Pune. The capital will also strengthen the company’s R&D capabilities, accelerate domestic growth, and broaden its footprint in international markets.

Pratik Kamdar, CEO and Co-Founder, Neuron Energy, said, “This Pre-Series B round is a defining step in our mission to industrialise world-class battery manufacturing in India. As EV adoption accelerates, we are focused on building capacity, embedding automation, and pushing the boundaries of performance and reliability. This investment ensures we can deliver at scale, both in India and globally.”

The company said it operates with a low-CapEx and low-OpEx business model. It has been growing profitably year-on-year and is on track to achieve INR 2 billion in revenue this year. The company is also confident of achieving sales of over INR 9 billion, with profitability, over the next few years.

Rajesh Sehgal of Equanimity Ventures, added, "We see immense potential in Neuron Energy’s approach to EV battery innovation and scalability. Their focus on quality, automation, and energy efficiency aligns with the evolving demands of the EV industry in India and beyond. We are proud to support their next phase of growth as they scale into new vehicle categories and manufacturing capacities."

The new facility reinforces the company’s position in two-wheeler EV batteries and signals a strategic entry into heavier vehicle segments. This supports Neuron’s vision to become a comprehensive EV battery solutions provider.

Rajiv Dadlani, from the Family Office of the Rajiv Dadlani Group, said, "Neuron Energy demonstrates remarkable potential to become the market leader, with their renewed focus, in delivering top-quality products. The company and its founders are highly committed to delivering rigorously tested and safe-to-use Li-Ion smart batteries. We are confident that they will continue to thrive and set new standards in the industry."

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