The company might be looking to gain on early mover advantage in the electric passenger vehicle segment just like Tesla did in the United States
Ola Electric has announced the launched of S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters in India. The company has priced the S1 at Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom), and the S1 Pro at Rs 1,29,999 (ex-showroom). The company is rumored to be working on an electric car as well.
The company is looking to gain on early mover advantage in the electric passenger vehicle segment just like Tesla did in the United States. There are only a handful of players operating in the passenger EV segment in the country at the moment.
Built the first scooter in our Futurefactory today! From barren land in Feb to this in under 6 months despite a pandemic!! The @OlaElectric team is just amazing❤️?? pic.twitter.com/B0grjzWwVC
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) August 14, 2021
A report by AutoCar noted that the Ola’s first passenger EV will be based on the born-electric skateboard platform. The company plans to launch the car keeping city travel in consideration. Hence the prices of the EV might be more of the economical side.
Ola is working on setting up a global design center in the city of Bengaluru at the moment, and has already started approaching designers from care brands such as Tata for the same.
The company’s CEO and chairman, Bhavish Aggarwal, had earlier noted while the company was launching e-two-wheelers first, it was also working on entering the electric car market at some point.
Ola Electric and Bank of Baroda had recently signed the largest long-term debt financing agreement in Indian EV industry. This 10-year debt of US$100 million is towards the funding and financial closure of the Phase 1 of the Ola Futurefactory, Ola’s global manufacturing hub for its electric two-wheelers.
The first phase of Ola Futurefactory is nearing completion shortly, following which production trials of the much awaited Ola Scooter will commence. The company has recently announced that it is allocating an additional Rs 400 crores worth of stocks to employees in the run up to its IPO.
Our expanded ESOP programme, along with the fresh stock allocation of ₹400Cr, enables our key talent to participate in the long term wealth creation opportunities generated by their innovations and the impact they create. It will also reinforce their sense of ownership and align their growth with that of the company as we continue to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable mobility” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola’s Founder.
