Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal says its first EV car to arrive in 2024

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of homegrown electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer 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. He also shared some new details of its upcoming electric car.

Aggarwal, said, "Over the last year EVs have been at the center of transforming personal mobility. At Ola, we have been at the epicenter of this change, driving adoption, increasing access and affordability. There is much to be achieved yet. Currently, less than 15 per cent Indians own a 2W or a 4W and with India poised for strong economic growth, the Indian automotive industry will witness demand for 20Mn 4Ws and 50Mn 2Ws each year."

Ola's event, named 'Mission Electric 2022,' was streamed on YouTube with pre-recorded footage from its future factory in Tamil Nadu.

"We believe that India needs to become the global epicenter 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 investment 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.

Agrawal started the event by introducing a new electric scooter Ola S1 in India to target a more budget-friendly price segment as compared to its Ola S1 Pro. Interestingly, the company was already offering the Ola S1 scooter, which was one of the two models that were introduced at the launch, however, the company stopped offering these scooters soon.

The new Ola S1 has received an introductory price of Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom) and bookings for the same can be done from the company's official app 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.

The new Ola S1 will be 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 namely: Red, Jet black, Porcelain White, Blue and Liquid Silver.

Ola Electric CEO also announced that 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.

Ola, which already has EV scooters in the Indian market, claims that it is working on an electric car, which according to Aggarwal, would be among the fastest and sportiest car in India. Aggarwal quoted 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 sprint 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 co-efficient of less than 0.21, company's proprietary Move OS and assisted driving capabilities. The car is set to arrive in 2024, said Agrawal.

Ola also revealed its plans to develop two new vehicle platforms and six different cars, which would be manufactured at its Tamil Nadu Giga factory, which will extend in terms of output and production.

Aggarwal also showed a battery module on screen and said that it is made from cells developed indigenously by Ola Electric; a first for any Indian vehicle OEM. Aggarwal 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," Aggarwal said during the event. The company also promised to launch more than 100 hyper-chargers across the "top 50 cities" in the country.