Ola Will Challenge Honda Activa With A New, Affordable Electric Scooter (Price, Range, USPs)

Ola will expand its lineup in the near future with multiple battery-powered two-wheelers.

Electric Cars In Future?

Apart from scooters, it will also enter the passenger vehicle segment.

To that end, it has hired personnel to develop an electric car.

Its upcoming product will be another electric scooter which will be priced lower than its current S1 range.

New Entry-Level Model

It will be the entry level model in the company’s two-wheeler lineup and will be positioned below the S1.

The name is speculated to be Ola Series S, which the company has already registered

In order to cut costs, the new e-scooter will likely be stripped of some features.

One of them could be replacing the current 3kWh battery in S1 with a lower-rated battery which could send energy to an electric motor with a smaller capacity.

Range And Top Speed

Therefore, the performance may not be very impressive, and it could also have a lower single-charge range.

But despite the modest battery and motor specifications, the vehicle is expected to offer a range of around 100km on a single charge.

Top speed is expected to be around 75-80 kmph.

But these figures should be taken with a grain of salt since there is no official word yet. 

Features Cut To Save Costs

Other features that could take a backseat include touchscreen display, cruise control, speakers and keyless ignition.

Higher end features such as remote boot lock/unlock, proximity lock/unlock, voice assistant, Wifi connectivity and geo-fencing will also likely be left out.

The two-wheeler could run on simple steel wheels in place of the 12-inch alloys in the current models.

Pricing

If it is to be priced below the S1 base variant, it could cost under Rs 1 lakh, which goes down further with FAME-II and state subsidies.

The figure may hover between Rs 70k to Rs 80k, making it a strong competitor to India’s best selling scooters Honda Activa and TVS Jupiter.

Current Lineup

Ola’s current lineup comprises S1 and S1 Pro.

The S1 runs on a 2.98kWh battery pack and the Pro on a larger 3.97kWh battery.

S1 offers a range of 121km and the Pro returns 181km on a full charge.

Top speed achieved on S1 is 90 kmph whereas S1 Pro can reach a top speed of 115 kmph.

Charging

The S1 takes a shorter time to charge with its smaller battery pack at 4 hours and 48 minutes.

It takes 6.5 hours for the larger battery pack to get fully charged using a standard AC charger.

However, Ola’s fast charger offers the benefit of a 75km range on 18 minutes of charging.

Both are currently being offered for test drives across Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad for the benefit of those who have reserved a unit.