tech2 News StaffJul 15, 2021 18:31:26 IST
Ola Electric has opened bookings for the Ola electric scooter ahead of its launch in the coming weeks. The price of reserving the Ola e-scooter has been set at Rs 499. In a tweet shared this afternoon, Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal announced reservations for the brand’s first electric scooter can now be made by making a payment of Rs 499.
India’s EV revolution begins today! Bookings now open for the Ola Scooter!
India has the potential to become the world leader in EVs and we’re proud to lead this charge! #JoinTheRevolution at https://t.co/lzUzbWtgJH @olaelectric pic.twitter.com/A2kpu7Liw4— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) July 15, 2021
Ola Electric says those who place an order for the electric scooter by paying Rs 499 at this time will be ‘first in line to purchase it’ when prices are announced, and deliveries are to begin. The reservation can be cancelled at any time, and the full amount will be refunded in case a buyer changes their mind. Those who wish to reserve the Ola electric scooter can make the payment via net banking, credit/debit cards, UPI, e-wallets or through OlaMoney.
The Ola electric scooter is said to have class-leading acceleration and range figures. Image: Ola Electric/Tech2
Additionally, buyers will have the option to reserve multiple units of the Ola electric scooter, and also the option to transfer the reservation to someone else’s name if they wish to. Buyers will be given the provision to choose the colour and variant of their Ola e-scooter at a later stage. Ola Electric has also revealed the scooter can be charged using a standard 5A socket, or at one of its ‘Hypercharger’ charging stations, which is going live in over 100 cities at this time and will eventually cover over 400 cities.
Shortly after reservations were opened, many users on Twitter said they weren’t able to access the booking portal. Significantly high traffic led to Ola Electric’s servers being overburdened, but the company is currently working to fix the problem, Tech2 has learned.
Unable to book. Getting an error “OTP session already expired”. Too bad I would have deposited Rs.1500 for 3 scooters already by now.
— Akshay Ganapathy (@DGAkshay) July 15, 2021
In a video shared a few days ago, Ola Electric declared its electric scooter will have class-leading acceleration. It’s unclear at this time which scooters Ola considers to be its rivals, but for perspective, the Ather 450X – which is currently the quickest-accelerating e-scooter on sale in India – does 0-40 kph in 3.3 seconds and 0-60 kph in 6.5 seconds. The lower-spec Ather 450 Plus, on the other hand, can do 0-40 kph in 3.9 seconds and 0-60 kph in 8.29 seconds.
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In a social media post, Aggarwal also said the Ola electric scooter is “unbelievably fast and fun to ride”.
The video also stated the Ola electric scooter will have the largest under-seat storage in its category. To that end, Aggarwal was seen fitting two half-face helmets into the storage bay of the Ola electric scooter in the video.
The Ola electric scooter can store two half-face helmets in its under-seat storage bay. Image: Ola Electric
The Ola electric sports a matte-black finish (with more colours said to be in development) and runs on 12-inch black alloy wheels. Its design steers clear of dramatic flourishes or complex surfacing, retaining a clean, straightforward appearance. The twin-LED headlight is ensconced by a DRL ring, and the apron incorporates slim turn indicators.
Ola’s electric scooter has a single-sided telescopic front suspension and horizontally mounted rear shock absorber, as well as slotted front and rear disc brakes. The pillion foot pegs fold flush into the scooter’s bodywork, and at the back, the Ola electric scooter gets a chunky pillion grab handle and a clear-lens tail-light.
Launch of Ola’s electric scooter is understood to be just around the corner. Image: Ola Electric
While Ola hasn’t shared more details at this point, its electric scooter is likely to have a 7.0-inch TFT colour display running an Android operating system and featuring in-built navigation, onboard diagnostics and other infotainment functions.
Ola Electric commenced construction of its mega EV manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu in February. The plant – Phase 1 of which is close to completion – is billed the world’s largest two-wheeler production facility, spread out over a total of 500 acres of land. Ola Electric says it will have a total of 3,000 AI-powered robots in the facility.
As of July, Ola’s facility has an annual production capacity of two million vehicles by June 2021, and that number will rise to ten million vehicles by 2022. At that point, Ola Electric estimates it will be producing a new two-wheeler every two seconds from ten production lines. Eventually, Ola Electric aims to produce electric four-wheelers as well, and will also export its products to other markets.
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