Ola unveils first e-motorbike, cheapest e-scooter in India
By moving into motorbikes, Ola is up against more experienced global manufacturers
Bengaluru: Ola Electric Mobility is expanding its electric two-wheeler lineup - with its first motorbike and cheapest scooter yet - as it seeks to lure buyers away from gasoline-fueled transportation.
The Bengaluru-based startup unveiled four premium electric motorbikes, with sales and deliveries starting in a year, at an event at its Ola Future Factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The company is launching its cheapest battery scooter, the S1 X priced at Rs89,999 ($1,085), to take on affordable gasoline two-wheelers. It will be available starting in December.
“After this, we believe there will be no need for anybody to buy internal combustion engine scooters in the country,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, the company’s founder. “Our goal is that we have to make EVs cost the same as internal combustion engines. We have made a big stride toward that.”
Ola is building what it’s touting as the world’s largest electric vehicle hub to churn out battery-powered two-wheelers, cars and EV cells, in addition to housing vendor and supplier facilities. The startup, which dominates the domestic electric-scooter market, is advancing its plan to go public as demand surges, Aggarwal said last month.
By moving into motorbikes, Ola is up against more experienced global manufacturers. Hero MotoCorp recently stopped taking bookings for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle in India after orders poured in. The competition is further building as the UK’s Triumph Motorcycles teams up with Bajaj Auto to design and make bikes costing less than Rs200,000.
Ola also showcased its first EV cell at the event. The cell factory will begin operations by next year and have an initial output of 5 gigawatt hours. Ola’s electric two-wheeler factory has an annual production capacity of 1 million units, which will ramp up to 10 million units over the next five years.