Ola Electric’s Roadster X Motorcycle Isn’t Even Roadworthy Yet

The recently unveiled Ola Roadster X isn't ready yet for deliveries to begin by mid-March, people aware of the matter said, as the issues that plagued the company's scooters in the past have surfaced in the motorcycle as well.

The electric motorcycle is yet to undergo the homologation process, the people cited above said, requesting anonymity since the matter isn't public yet. The electric vehicle has issues with its thermal management, battery pack, battery management system (BMS), and the motor, they said.

Homologation is the process of certifying that a vehicle is roadworthy and matches certain criteria laid out for all vehicles made or imported into India, according to the government's VAHAN website. The tests ensure that the vehicle matches the requirements of the Indian market in terms of emission and safety and roadworthiness according to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.

On Feb. 5, Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. unveiled its first motorcycle at prices comparable to those of 125-cc commuters. The Roadster X range gets five battery pack options (2.5 kWh to 9.1 kWh) with a claimed range of 252-502 km. The top-end Roadster X+, with the 9.1 kWh battery, is powered by Ola's in-house 4680 Bharat cell.

It's the size of the battery pack that's caused the thermal problem, one of the people cited above said. The existing thermal management system—which prevents battery-related fire incidents—is proving to be inadequate in dissipating heat from the battery pack. 

The range-topping Roadster X+ may take even longer to come as Ola Electric has yet to start production at its Gigafactory in Tamil Nadu.

Essentially, this is a deja vu moment for Ola Electric.

The company's electric scooters have regularly come under fire (quite literally) for its quality and service-related issues. Those were amplified in the aftermath of the company's listing in July last year.

In September 2024, amid reports of nearly a lakh customer complaints every month, NDTV Profit visited Ola Electric's sales service centres to find thousands of scooters languishing for want of service and spares. That attracted government scrutiny from multiple quarters, which the company claims to have addressed.

In December, Ola Electric embarked on an expansion spree to quadruple its sales and service centres. That hasn't materially translated into higher sales, yet.