Background:
Electric vehicles are trending again these days. Again – because every once in a while there would come an EV that would promise environmental and cost benefits. However, the buzz never lasted for long. This time, things seem to be different.
Indian markets have been witnessing a surge in EV offerings by different manufacturers, like Tata, Mahindra, TVS, Hero, and also startups like Ather Energy. It looks like the EV age is finally here. Everyone seems to be excited about the segment, manufacturers, and customers alike. And amidst this excitement, comes Ola Electric.
Ola Electric:
Ola, one of the leading ride-sharing services in the country, announced its entry into the electric vehicle segment, and all eyes turned. And why wouldn’t they, Ola had claimed to be working on the world’s largest two-wheeler factory, focused only on electric scooters. Built on 500 acres of land, the Ola FutureFactory could potentially produce 10M scooters annually. It houses around 10,000 workers, all women, making it the world’s first women-only factory as well. It was certain that the electric vehicle category was going to get interesting.
Fast forward a few months, and Ola has launched its first electric scooter – the Ola S1.
Ola Electric Scooter – Ola S1:
Keeping in mind the problems related to fossil fuels today, and the subsequent impact on the environment, Ola envisioned an innovative and technological solution. Ola S1 is a result of this vision, and it is claimed to be having the best design, performance, and technology as compared to any other e-scooter in the market.
Performance:
Ola S1 promises a range of up to 181 km, which is a new benchmark for e-scooters as of today, with a top speed of 115 km/hr. The battery on the S1 generates a motor power of 8.5 kW, supposedly the best in the category.
Features:
Ola S1 is a feature-packed electric vehicle. It comes with a keyless lock-unlock experience that uses your phone to detect when you are near or away from your vehicle. It houses a touchscreen display with options such as GPS navigation, accepting or rejecting calls, music control, vehicle sound control, driving modes, and some others. You can use your phone to monitor and control various aspects of the scooter as well.
Although we can find a lot of these features in other e-scooters like Ather 450X or TVS iQube, the differentiating factor here is how well these features are integrated into the scooter.
Pricing:
There are currently 2 variants of the Ola S1 that are available – the S1 and the S1 Pro. The Ola S1 is priced at INR 99,999 and the S1 Pro at INR 1,29,999. With the promised specs, performance, and features, these prices certainly look impressive as compared to other e-scooters in the market.
Ola’s ability to manufacture electric scooters at scale will allow them to lower the production costs, and thus the final cost for the customer. The Ola S1 opened for booking on the 15th of September, 2021, and Ola has claimed that they have already sold electric scooters worth over INR 1,100 crore! Keeping everything aside, Ola’s electric scooter has certainly given a solid boost to the EV category – in terms of customer awareness and product benchmarks.