OLA announces S1 e-scooter, battery innovation center and e-car for ‘Mission Electric 2022’

On the occasion of 75th Independence Day, Ola’s ‘Mission Electric 2022’ event, which featured pre-recorded content from its future factory in Tamil Nadu, was streamed on YouTube. Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola Electric, on August 15, at the company’s annual event, announced the launch of its new Ola S1 scooter along with the new indigenously developed lithium-ion battery and shared Ola’s vision for making India a global EV hub.

Aggarwal said, “Over the last year, EVs have been at the centre of transforming personal mobility. At Ola, we have been at the epicentre of this change, driving adoption and increasing access and affordability. There is much to be achieved yet. Currently, less than 15 per cent of Indians own a 2-Wheeler or a 4-Wheeler, and with India poised for strong economic growth, the Indian automotive industry will witness demand for 20 Million 4Ws and 50 Million 2Ws each year.” “We believe that India needs to become the global epicentre of the EV revolution and command 25 per cent of the world’s automotive market. Today, at Ola, we are taking Mission Electric to the next level by ensuring we have a roadmap to invest in technology, build scale and bring quality products that India deserves.  As we build for India, we will also be creating the EV paradigm for the rest of the world,” he added.

OLA S1 Scooter

The new OLA S1 Scooter was introduced in the event with Move OS 3; the third iteration for the software underpinning Ola’s scooters will be released on Diwali this year. The new OS will get features like moods, digital key sharing, proximity unlock, improved regen and documents on your scooter. The scooter will come equipped with a 3kWh battery pack and will have an ARAI-certified range of 131 km, claims the company. The scooter will have a top speed of 95 kmph and will be offered in five colours – Red, Jet black, Porcelain White, Blue and Liquid Silver and only 1947 units of Khaki Colour will be available.

The new Ola S1 comes with an introductory price of Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom), and bookings for the same can be done from the company’s official app or website by paying a token amount of Rs 499 starting August 15 to August 31. The scooter will go on sale from September 1 for pre-booked orders, while for others, it will begin from September 2. The company also promised that it will start deliveries for the Ola S1 on September 7.

More than 100 Hyperchargers will be launched across the top 50 cities in India by November 2022, and the network will continue to expand in future.

Battery Innovation Center

Bhavish Aggarwal introduced the Battery Innovation Center and showed a battery module which is made from cells developed indigenously by Ola Electric. He also talked about bringing an EV revolution to India and claimed that the Ola Future factory would be able to produce one million EV cars, 10 million two-wheelers and 100 GWh battery cells every year.

“We missed the semiconductor, solar, electronic and other manufacturing revolutions. But everyone around the world is still getting started with electric cells and batteries. If we invest now and at scale, we can lead the market,” he said during the event.

New Ola Electric Car

Ola also revealed an electric car, which according to Aggarwal, would be among the fastest and sportiest car in India. Aggarwal stated that Ola’s upcoming electric car will have “the best performance, best design and the best technology ever built in a car in India.” He claimed that the upcoming EV would be able to go from 0 to 100 kmph within 4 seconds and have a driving range of over 500km on a single charge. He also said that the new car will feature an all-glass roof, will have a drag coefficient of less than 0.21, company’s proprietary Move OS and assisted driving capabilities. The car is set to arrive in 2024, said Aggarwal.