Ola Electric, the EV arm of Indian cab-hailing company Ola, finally launched its ambitious electric scooters in the country over the weekend.
The company had teased the look of the two-wheeler back in July, but we finally have all the juicy details on it, so let’s dive in.
What is the scooter called?
The firm’s first two-wheelers are called the Ola S1 and the Ola S1 Pro. Kinda sounds like they’re releasing new phones but okay.
What are their specifications?
The Ola S1 has a 2.98kWh battery with a 121km claimed range, and the top-tier Ola S1 Pro has a 3.97kWh battery with 181km of claimed range.
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Both scooters have a peak power of 8.5kW. The S1 can reach the top speed of 90km/h and the S1 Pro can reach the top speed of 115km/h.
The budget S1 has a normal and sports mode of riding while the S1 Pro has a normal, sports, and hyper mode of riding. You can check out the comparison between the two models in the picture below.
What are some unique features of these scooters?
These scooters have a seven-inch touch screen display with microphones for voice commands. It is powered by an octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM, and 4G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. The whole system runs on the company’s own MoveOS. The company plans to have a key-less experience with an app on your phone.
Since electric vehicles are usually very silent, Ola has included four sound modes: Bolt, Care, Vintage, and Wonder.
What’s more, these scooters have an anti-theft alert system, geo-fencing, and a flame retardant and water + dust resistant battery.
What about charging?
If you’re charging your scooter at Ola’s Hypercharging station, it’ll take roughly two and a half hours for a full charge. However, these stations can charge up to 50% of your scooter’s battery in 18 minutes.
If you’re charging your scooter at home, it’ll take over five and a half hours for a full charge — not a bad option for overnight charging.
What about price and availability?
The Ola S1 is priced at ₹99,999 (~$1,350) and the Ola S1 Pro is priced at ₹129,999 ($1,753). Some states in India offer subsidies for electric vehicles, so the final price might be lower.
These scooters will go on sale from September 8 in major cities, and they’ll be available for purchase across 1,000 cities and towns of India by October.
The future plan
Ola plans to make 10 million scooters a year from its Futurefactory. For context, two-wheeler EV sales in India are less than 300,000 for the last two financial years. So Ola’s plan is ambitious.
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