Ola Stops Making This Variant Of Electric Scooter; Delivery Postponed To 2022 End: Is This Fair?

Customers who have booked Ola Electric’s S1 scooter have been informed by the company that its production has been halted for the time being.

Why?

It will be produced only in late 2022 since the company is prioritizing production of S1 Pro.

It said it is doing so because “a vast majority of [its] customers have chosen the S1 Pro”.

The company did not specify the reason for the production delay but admitted that it has not produced it even for test rides.

Option To Upgrade

Those who booked the base version have been given the option to upgrade to a scooter which would have the hardware of an S1 pro but lack the air software updates.

This means that the scooter will work like the S1 but customers will be given the option to unlock features that would upgrade it to the Pro at any time by paying the balance Rs 30,000.

They may do so when the final payment window opens on Ola app on January 21 at 6 PM.

Waiting Period

Meanwhile, dispatches will continue throughout January and February.

Customers face a waiting period of 10-20 days post dispatch to get the product home delivered. 

How long they have to wait depends on their location and RTO requirements in a particular city.

Those choosing not to upgrade can wait till production resumes, possibly a waiting time of around 10-12 months for those who may have pre booked it in July 2021.

They will be notified as soon as production resumes and can then make the final payment.

S1 Vs S1 Pro

The third and final option for S1 customers is to cancel the booking on the Ola app or by contacting their customer support team

S1 pro has additional benefits over the base S1 scooter and costs Rs 30,000 more.

S1 has ride modes of Normal and Sport, whereas the Pro gets an additional Hyper ride mode in which top speed reaches 115 kmph.

Though it may not be fully realized in city conditions, it can come in handy when overtaking. 

On the other hand, the S1’s top speed is only 90 kmph. 

Range Advantage

The Pro enjoys faster acceleration with 0-40 kmph achieved in 3 seconds, where S1 takes 3.6 seconds.

The biggest advantage of the Pro is its higher range of 181 km, versus S1 with its range of 121 km. 

It should be noted that the true range may vary based on various factors.