Ola electric car could go on sale sometime next year and the image of a design study released could preview the model
Ola Electric’s Chief Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal has released an image of what appears to be a concept car probably destined for production sometime next year. While no more details have been revealed by him, it could be a finished design study and will more likely act as a base for the production-spec electric four-wheeler.
The company entered the electric two-wheeler space with the S1 and S1 Pro scooters boasting big claims but it has been through major setbacks in delivery and reliability issues have also been reported by customers. In the meantime, Ola announced another set of investments as it raised over 200 million USD from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss and others.
The funding round has pegged the electric mobility startup’s valuation at 5 billion USD. Previously, Bhavish Aggarwal kept his followers guessing by replying to a tweet and saying, “Next car replacement should be the Ola electric car”. However, the brand’s existing factory in Tamil Nadu, claimed to be the world’s largest in electric two-wheeler production, may need a new production line for cars.
Thus, the launch timeline of 2023 may not be feasible. Back to the concept, it has a large glass canopy covering the pillar, windshield and roof section while the illuminated Ola lettering can be seen at the front. The canopy and the grey coloured flowing body panels are accompanied by a horizontal LED light strip covering the entire width in a swooping fashion.
Except for the wheels, nothing in the concept looks conventional though and it makes us wonder if the final production model would have any similarities with it. The electric car project will be backed by Softbank Group and recently Ola stepped into the used car business under a new vertical. It will be interesting to see how the e-car project evolves.
Ola is currently in the process of fulfilling deliveries of its S1 Pro electric scooter with a backlog of close to 90,000 orders raising frustrations amongst the buyers. For any brand to succeed, building a strong customer base is necessary and committing to deliveries is one part of that equation and it should be done right.