The Ola electric scooter is expected to be equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack will deliver range of over 100 kms on single charge
Ola Electric acquired Dutch-based Etergo electric scooter manufacturer last year and is working on building what is expected to be the world’s largest scooter factory. The company has tied up with Siemens to built the aforementioned factory in Tamil Nadu with an investment of INR 2,400 cr. The Ola electric scooter is expected to be launched in India sometime in second half of 2021.
Ola electric scooter
The Etergo AppScooter aka Ola electric scooter has been spotted testing at what looks like a private test facility in India. The camouflaged prototypes are identical to the international version in terms of styling and equipment. The scooter adopts a sleek bodywork with LED headlight, an unconventional single telescopic front suspension, alloy wheels, etc.
The final specifications of the electric powertrain are not clear as of now. The Etergo AppScooter’s removable lithium-ion battery configuration is expected to be retained on the Ola Electric Scooter for India. Depending on the number of cells used, the scooter’s maximum range can be up to 240 km on a single charge. The 0-45 kmph comes in about 3.9 seconds and the scooter has top speed of over 100 kmph.
Ola may make some noticeable changes to the AppScooter to make is more suitable for the Indian market and to keep the costs in check. There could also be multiple variants with different battery sizes to cover a wider range of audience.
Features
Being a premium product, the Ola electric scooter will feature LED headlamp, LED tailight, alloy wheels, front disc brake, colour TFT instrument display with smartphone connectivity features, a dedicated smartphone app to interact with the scooter and so on.
We expect the scooter to be priced upward to INR 1 lakh (ex-showroom). Intended rivals will be Ather 450X, Bajaj e-Chetak, TVS iQube and a whole other premium electric scooters that are on their way to our market.
Manufacturing
Upon completion, Ola Electric’s Tamil Nadu plant is said to generate 10,000 employment opportunities and have an installed annual production capacity of 2 million units. In addition to serving the promising Indian electric scooter market, the upcoming factory will also manufacture Ola electric scooter for international markets with focus on Europe, Asia and Latin America.
As of now, achieving large scale production from the get go has been a challenge for the e-mobility startups in the country but with massive investment in the factory, Ola seems to have this issue covered (provided supply chain infrastructure is sorted as well). Kick starting retail operations across the country from day one would help Ola slingshot ahead of its rivals who are trying a phase-wise launch due to production and supply chain constraints.
