Electrification is the only solution to vehicular pollution: Ola CEO as company launches e-scooter

In what is another big step for electric mobility in India, Ola Electric launched the S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters on Sunday. Prices begin from Rs 99,999.

“We need our people to own mobility solutions. But we can’t have that to be petrol vehicles. Imagine the kind of vehicular pollution today. Imagine that multiplied by five in a decade. The only way out is to accelerate this electric journey that we are on. That is the kind of vision we started our journey at Ola Electric with. It is all about accelerating the journey to a sustainable electric future in mobility. Electrification is the only sustainable solution to vehicular pollution," said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola.

The scooters are being produced at the 43-acre facility that has an annual production capacity of 1 million. Once fully completed, the company is looking at a capacity of 10 million at the 500-acre facility.

“This facility has a capacity of 1 million and we’ll add another million and unlike other OEMs who only do the assembly in-house, this is an all-in facility right from the weld shop to paint shop to our own battery pack manufacturing to our own motor line manufacturing. Everything is being done in-house. Obviously, we are working with suppliers for mechanical parts etc. But core components of electrification are being done in-house,” he said.

Commenting on sale in foreign markets, Aggarwal said: “We have been very clear about the fact that we can build in India for the world. Two-wheelers are a global market and it is a growing global market. Especially after Covid, people across the world want personal urban mobility solutions and we want to be the leader in this space. Asean, Europe, LatAm, all the relevant markets.

“Asia has been the traditional markets for two-wheelers. Africa and Lat-Am have been growth markets for two-wheelers. Especially after Covid, even the West has opened up. There are a lot of tailwinds for two-wheelers globally but they have to be electric. China is not a priority for us right now," he added.

In reply to a question, Aggarwal said: “It is about growing the Indian technology ecosystem and manufacturing ecosystem. Companies, whether Indian or international, should invest in India. That is my clear comment to anyone who wants to import into India. India is the best place to invest. We welcome competition and we’ll beat competition, whether Indian or global.”

Asked if the government is doing enough to push electric mobility, he said: “I think the government has been more than supportive to the industry. The government has a very progressive FAME scheme. The government has a very progressive and encouraging mindset about industry, both at the state and central levels. We have always found support from the government.”

The Ola S1 scooter is largely built with local components. “We have been careful to source almost all the components from India. Only the cells come from Korea. India already is a decent ecosystem for traditional two-wheeler sourcing. The challenge is in the new parts like battery packs, cells, motors, electronics and that is where we have tried to build our own technology and sourced from the relevant places."

Ever since opening pre-orders, the company has received more than a lakh bookings from 1000 cities in India.

For the ecosystem to be complete, Ola is also setting up charging infrastructure. “Charging stations are also happening. We have taken spaces and we are rolling them out. We will have enough in every relevant city by the time deliveries happen. Charging station rollout will follow sales rollout and every city will have the relevant scale when we begin. About 5000 charging points in 100 cities is the goal. We have partnerships and they will get operationalised by the time deliveries start," Aggarwal noted.

The Ola S1 has a top speed of 90 Kmph and it can reach 40 Kmph from zero in 3.6 seconds. Its range is 121 Km. It has a peak motor power of 8.5 KW, has a 2.98 KWh battery pack is priced at Rs 99,999 and comes in five colours. The Ola S1 Pro has a top speed of 115 Kmph and can hit the 40 Kmph mark from zero in a mere three seconds. The range is 181 Km and it has a peak motor power of 8.5 KW, 3.97 KWh battery pack is priced at Rs 1,29,999 and comes in 10 colours. The prices are ex-showroom and include FAME II subsidy, but exclude state subsidy.

The S1 has the Normal and Sports riding mode, but the S1 Pro additionally has the Hyper mode. Fast charging can be done to 50 per cent in 18 minutes. With the portable charger the customer will take with the vehicle, the charging time is six hours. The scooter has no key and there are three ways to lock/ unlock it. It can be done via the Ola app, a passcode can be entered on the scooter or the owner’s proximity near the scooter unlocks it and walk away and it locks (via the smartphone). Its operating system (Move OS) has been built by Ola.

Purchase begins on September 8, while deliveries in more than 1000 cities begin in October.