Coming next year: Ola electric motorcycle, sportsbike & more EVs

Speaking on the sidelines of the Ola S1 Air electric scooter’s launch, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal noted that Ola Electric would soon launch an electric motorcycle, electric sportsbike and other commuter two wheelers. The idea is to give customers who’re currently on petrol powered two wheelers the option of switching to electric powered versions of the same. Since the two wheeler market in India has various categories such as commuter motorcycles, scooters and sport bikes, Ola Electric will have to build multiple electric-powered two wheelers that fit these categories.

Here’s what Mr. Aggarwal said,

Over the next 12 months, we will build EV products in all two-wheeler categories, like commuter scooters, motorbikes, sports bikes and more, to ensure everyone buying ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, has a much better EV product to choose from. 

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In line with Mr. Aggarwal #EndICEAge

Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal has been quite vocal about ending the internal combustion engine (ICE) age, and has promised that his company would build a range of electric vehicles to achieve this lofty goal. As of now, Ola Electric has two key offerings – the S1 Pro and S1 electric scooters, whose average sales stand less than 5,000 monthly units. To put things in perspective, these sales represent less than 1 % of the total monthly sales of two wheelers in India. Among electric scooters though, Ola Electric (9,634 units) sold the most number of electric scooters in September 2022, beating Okinawa Electric (8,278) and Hero Electric (8,018) by a small margin. With the launch of the Ola Air, which also happens to be the most affordable electric scooter sold by the company in India with a introductory price of Rs. 79,999, sales are likely to improve in the coming months.

Ola setting up an entire ecosystem

The real inflection point for Ola Electric is likely to come when the mobility company realizes its vision of setting up an entire electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem in India that also includes local manufacture of batteries – the single most expensive component of an electric vehicle. Ola Electric is working on setting up a battery manufacturing facility in India, which is expected to result in the cost of batteries coming down dramatically, making electric vehicles more affordable than ever before.

Ola is working on a massive factory in Tamil Nadu, which is touted to be the company’s answer to Tesla’s GigaFactory.  Ola is also planning to showcase an all-electric car next year. The Ola electric car will sit in the premium segment, and is expected to be launched in 2024. Ola will launch more affordable electric cars later, and will take a top-down approach for introducing new electric four wheelers in the Indian market. The company has followed a similar approach in the electric scooter space.

Challenges galore

While CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has been making tall claims about replacing internal combustion engined vehicles with electric vehicles, the road to that vision comes with many challenges. Ola Electric has been struggling with quality levels with many of its scooters facing breakdowns, poor finish and even fires. The company’s factory has faced delays in operations.

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