Ola gives first glimpse of new e-scooter

(ATF) Indian electric vehicle maker Ola Electric has unveiled its new look high-end e-scooter.

The black-matte bike, which is expected to reach speeds of up to 100kph, will be the figurehead product expected to begin rolling off the lines of Ola’s new factory being built in Hosur, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Indian press commented on how similar the e-scooter looks to the Appscooter designed by Dutch firm Etergo. That bike was promoted until two years ago when Etergo ran into financial trouble and was bought by Ola in 2020.

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Ola Electric will invest $326 million to set up, what it calls, the “world’s largest” electric scooter manufacturing plant.

The SoftBank-backed Ola aims to make India a manufacturing hub for EVs, which upon completion will create almost 10,000 jobs with an annual capacity of 10 million EVs.

Ola hasn’t given details in when the bike will be released but reports in India suggest it’s likely to be the end of this year.

Ola Electric is the EV unit of the Ola ride-hailing firm, which claims to be India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies. It operates around the world, including in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, serving key global markets like London and Sydney.

The proposed EV factory will cater to customers not only in India but in markets around the world including Europe, Asia, Latin America, and more, said the company last year when the factory plan was announced.

The Indian government has been pushing automakers to move to cleaner fuel technology, especially electric, in an effort to reduce its oil import bill and curb pollution in major cities.

While carmakers have been slow to launch electric vehicles (EVs), mainly due to the high cost of batteries and weak demand from buyers, sales of electric scooters and rickshaws have picked up pace and are leading India’s electrification drive.

Additional reporting by Indrajit Basu

Mark McCord

Mark McCord is a financial journalist with more than three decades experience writing and editing at global news wires including Bloomberg and AFP, as well as daily newspapers in Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne. He has covered some of the biggest breaking news events in recent years including the Enron scandal, the New York terrorist attacks and the Iraq War. He is based in the UK. You can tweet to Mark at @MarkMcC64371550.