Green calling: Ola Electric claims 1 lakh bookings in just 24 hrs – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Setting the stage for an aggressive entry into the two-wheeler space after opening bookings for a highly aggressive Rs 499, Ola Electric made a splash with its soon-to-be-launched green scooter, claiming to have an order book of 1 lakh units in just 24 hours of its opening.
While these are simply booking numbers and there will surely be cancellations, the good response indicates a growing interest of buyers towards electric drivetrains, especially with the price of petrol crossing the Rs 100-mark across many cities.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the group chairman and CEO of Ola, called this “the beginning” of a strong consumer trend towards electrics and said his company will scale up production of two-wheelers and other green products.
“The unprecedented demand is a clear indicator of shifting consumer preferences to EVs… This is only the beginning!” he said.
While the price of the product is yet to be announced, the company has promised an “aggressive” entry point for the market, in what is seen as a big challenge to incumbents such as Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, TVS and Bajaj.
While Ola is in overdrive, the older players seem to be playing catch-up. Hero – that has a stake in electric start-up Ather – is yet to launch its self-branded EV (it plans to do so later this year), and Honda 2Wheelers is still “studying” the segment. And while Bajaj and TVS have launched electric products, they have not been able to make much impact in the market.
Ola Electric is setting up a factory on a 500-acre site in Tamil Nadu and aims to operationalise the first phase with a 2-million annual capacity. It plans to reach the full capacity of 10 million annual vehicles by next year.
While details are yet to emerge, the Ola scooter – which has been pitched and highlighted aggressively on social media – will have a range of around 150 km on a single charge and have a top speed of 100 km per hour. This is being seen as “extremely lucrative” by industry watchers, especially when petrol prices have crossed the Rs 100 mark in most places.
While these are simply booking numbers and there will surely be cancellations, the good response indicates a growing interest of buyers towards electric drivetrains, especially with the price of petrol crossing the Rs 100-mark across many cities.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the group chairman and CEO of Ola, called this “the beginning” of a strong consumer trend towards electrics and said his company will scale up production of two-wheelers and other green products.
“The unprecedented demand is a clear indicator of shifting consumer preferences to EVs… This is only the beginning!” he said.
While the price of the product is yet to be announced, the company has promised an “aggressive” entry point for the market, in what is seen as a big challenge to incumbents such as Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, TVS and Bajaj.
While Ola is in overdrive, the older players seem to be playing catch-up. Hero – that has a stake in electric start-up Ather – is yet to launch its self-branded EV (it plans to do so later this year), and Honda 2Wheelers is still “studying” the segment. And while Bajaj and TVS have launched electric products, they have not been able to make much impact in the market.
Ola Electric is setting up a factory on a 500-acre site in Tamil Nadu and aims to operationalise the first phase with a 2-million annual capacity. It plans to reach the full capacity of 10 million annual vehicles by next year.
While details are yet to emerge, the Ola scooter – which has been pitched and highlighted aggressively on social media – will have a range of around 150 km on a single charge and have a top speed of 100 km per hour. This is being seen as “extremely lucrative” by industry watchers, especially when petrol prices have crossed the Rs 100 mark in most places.
