Ola S1, Ola S1 Pro, and Now Ola Electric Car: What is the next move of Ola Electric?
When Ola started its new segment Ola Electricback in 2019, it was intended as a side project, it was considered an experiment to test the capabilities of the electric vehicle market in India. But after three years, Ola Electric became a big name and one of the tough competitors in the EV market. In addition to releasing its two anticipated electric scooters last year, the company has also expanded into batteries and plans to launch its first mid-size electric car in the near future.
Ola already set a benchmark by entering the EV segment of India by launching its most anticipated e-scooter: Ola S1 and S1 Pro. Now, the company is all set to expand its EV segment with the launch of the electric four-wheeler. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has been open about his futuristic plans to adopt and dominate the electric market of India, and his company recently shared the first official teaser of its upcoming electric car.
Ola Electric Car
Design: Based on the official teaser launched by Ola Electric recently, we can see that the car looks like an impressive four-door coupe with a sporty look and a rounded roofline. A wide LED strip spans the full width of the hood and completes the front profile. This light bar has the glossy appearance of the Ola logo. We can also observe large vents in the two corners of the front bumper of the new ola electric car. The rear profile of the car somewhere resembles that of the front, except for a large LED strip for the rear lights and an illuminated Ola logo. In addition to the high roofline, a complete glass roof was chosen, just like with the coupe.
Specifications and Features: Nothing has been revealed about the drivetrain and platform in the official teaser as of now. However, the Ola Electric car accelerates to 100 km/h in less than 4 seconds. This is a range of sports cars beyond their impressive range. As per the company's officials, this will make the car the most anticipated car ever made in India. The company said the coupe shape and improved aerodynamics resulted in a very low drag coefficient of 0.21 Cd. This is expected to be the lowest of cars built in India. Ola Electric says its first all-electric vehicle will have a range of more than 500 kilometers on a complete single charge. The car battery is the first lithium-ion car battery developed by Ola Electric. Recently, Ola Electric has also invested heavily in developing its own batteries in India.
Price and Launch Date: As per the reports, the price range of the upcoming Ola electric car will range between Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 lakhs. Ola launch this car with a vision to be the global leader in the premium and mid-size to small car segment which attracts more and more customers to the Indian market. It is expected to be launched next year, however, an official announcement yet to be made by the company.
Ola Electric S1 Vs Ola Electric S1 Pro
Design: Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro have the same basic design. The length, width, and height of the two scooters are 1859mm, 712mm, and 1160mm respectively. The wheelbase and surface remained the same: 1359 mm and 165 mm respectively. However, due to the smaller battery, the Ola S1 Pro is 4kg heavier than the Ola S1. However, both scooter designs are modern and futuristic. It has a droid bot-inspired front headlamp cluster. The Ola S1 is available in Jet Black, Porcelain White, Neo Mint, Coral Glam, and Liquid Silver. Ola S1 Pro includes all S1 variants and additional versions are Matte Black, Jet Black, Midnight Blue, Anthracite Grey, Millennium Pink, and Marshmallow. Ola Electric has released a new khaki color. This is a special version of the "free version" available for a limited time.
Specifications and Features: The Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro are a good match but most of the changes have been made in the software. Both the entry-level S1 and the flagship S1 Pro feature 5.5 kW internal permanent magnet motors (IPM) with a maximum power output of 8.5 kW. Both scooters rise to 15 degrees and offer a lot of payloads. However, Ola S1 limits the top speed to 95 km/h, while the Ola S1 Pro model increases it to 116 km/h. Ola S1 uses a smaller and lighter 3kWh package instead of the larger 4kWh placed in Ola S1 Pro. This increases the ARAI-certified range to 141 km for the S1 and 181 km for the Ola S1 Pro. The actual range of Ola Electric is 128km and 160km for the Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro respectively. Ola S1 Pro has a large battery that charges in about 6 hours and 30 minutes from a household outlet. The company says it takes about five hours to charge the Ola S1's small battery.
The electric scooters are well equipped with many advanced features. The scooters have a 7-inch TFT color screen and run on Ola's proprietary vehicle management software MoveOS which will be updated in the future to MoveOS 3.0, which is expected to arrive in Diwali 2022. The Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro are equipped with features like navigation, companion app control, music playback, and many more. However, Ola Electric retained cruise control for the flagship S1 Pro. Going forward, the Indian electric car company may retain some of the features of the S1 Pro.
Price: Ola S1 is available in the price range of Rs. 99,999 (before subsidy) and Ola S1 Pro is available in the price range of Rs. 1,39,999 (before subsidy). It comes with a new 5 years warranty program and owners will receive the benefit of coverage.
Ola’s future EV plans
Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal unveils the ambitious plan to build the world's largest electric vehicle ecosystem in one place. It is expected that the place will be the future factory set of Ola Electric in Tamil Nadu. The Future Ola plant will produce electric two-wheelers, including scooters and motorcycles, electric vehicles, and batteries for electric vehicles.
This plant will cover more than 340 acres of land in Tamil Nadu which will be divided into three parts: 40 hectares will be dedicated to the production of electric two-wheelers, and 200 acres will be dedicated completely to electric car manufacturing. The rest of the 100 acres will be dedicated to the production of batteries and lithium cells. Ola Electric plans to turn India into a lithium battery manufacturing center and expects the cost of electric vehicles to fall by more than 25% with the production of in-house lithium batteries. Mr. Aggarwal did not mention specific future investments in Ola Electric plants, but given the size of the project and cash flow, it is unlikely that the investment will run into the billions of dollars.
