As per speculations, Ola Electric is planning to expand its EV range in the Indian market, adding a new, affordable scooter in the near future
Despite being surrounded by controversy, Ola Electric had managed to see a lot of sales success in India. Last year, the company had introduced two scooters in India, namely S1 and S1 Pro. Only the latter remains on sale currently; the production of the affordable S1 was halted earlier this year, with the manufacturer stating relatively low demand as the reason.
Now, it seems like Ola Electric is planning to re-introduce a more affordable scooter to its range. India is an extremely price-sensitive market, and it is extremely important to cater to the affordable end of the market to generate volumes. Details about Ola’s supposed forthcoming model are not available yet.
Ola S1 Pro is powered by a 3.97 kWh battery, paired with a single electric motor (8.5 kW peak power, 5.5 kW continuous power). The more affordable model is expected to have a smaller battery and perhaps a less powerful electric motor too. We’re not sure if the hardware would remain the same.
It is worth noting that Ola S1 used to be available with a 2.98 kWh battery, powered by the same electric motor as S1 Pro. However, the S1’s performance was electronically limited, with a rated top speed of 90 kmph as opposed to 115 kmph on S1 Pro. The base model also lacked a few features, but to be fair, plenty of features were missing from the ‘Pro’ variant as well for quite some time even after launch.
Ola S1 was priced at Rs. 1 lakh while S1 Pro is priced at Rs. 1.3 lakh (without subsidies). Although the price difference between the two is significant, the base variant isn’t really affordable, which is why a majority of buyers found it better to jump the gap and opt for the top-spec ‘Pro’ variant.
If the upcoming affordable Ola Scooter manages to have an even lower price tag, the manufacturer might be able to capture a bigger share of the scooter market in India. That said, Ola will also have to strengthen its aftersales support and sort out issues with its scooters before expanding its sales operations.