Ola's electric bike catches fire in Pune, company says it is investigating the matter

Videos of an Ola Electric scooter catching fire in Pune went viral on social media on Saturday.

The videos began to be posted online in the afternoon. Ola Electric Technologies acknowledged the incident in a statement, and said the customer is safe.

“We are aware of an incident in Pune that happened with one of our scooters and are investigating to understand the root cause and will share more updates in the next few days," Ola Electric Technologies said in the statement.

"We’re in constant touch with the customer who is absolutely safe. ... We take this incident seriously and will take appropriate action and share more in the coming days,” it added.

Separate videos of Saturday's incident taken by passersby show fumes emanating from the Ola Electric bike, before it bursts into flames.

Founded by Bhavish Aggarwal in 2020, Ola Electric Technologies launched the S1 and S1 Pro electric-bikes last year.

The speed at which Ola Electric has set up its manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, and released its electric-bike in market has raised eyebrows in the auto industry. There have been concerns about whether Ola has done the requisite testing for the electric bikes before commercialising it.

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Nevertheless, investors continue to back the company. In January, Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, and Edelweiss, among other investors, infused $200 million in Ola Electric Technologies.

Earlier this month, Ola Electric announced an investment in Israeli battery technology company StoreDot, a pioneer in batteries with extreme fast charging (XFC) technology. The investment marked the first of several global strategic investments planned by Ola Electric as it looks to ramp up its core R&D in advanced cell chemistry and manufacturing, as well as other battery technologies along with new energy systems.