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The much-anticipated Ola electric scooter has hit public roads for the first time. In a new video shared Friday, Ola Electric gave the world a glimpse of its first e-scooter being taken out for a spin by Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. The video steers clear of giving away any numbers but states the Ola electric scooter will better other e-scooters on the market in several departments, including performance and practicality. Watch the full video below.
In the video, Ola says its electric scooter will have class-leading acceleration. It’s unclear which scooter 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.
In a social media post, Aggarwal said the Ola electric scooter is “unbelievably fast and fun to ride”.
The video also states the Ola electric scooter will have the largest under-seat storage in its category. To that end, Aggarwal is seen fitting two half-face helmets into the storage bay of the Ola electric scooter in the video.
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, horizontally mounted rear shock absorber, and slotted front and rear disc brakes. The pillion footpegs 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.
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. The real-world range is expected to be around 100 kilometres.
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 as 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 and export its products to other markets.
