Ola S1 and S1 Pro come with a claimed range of 121km and 181 km respectively, and the scooters can be accessed with a ‘digital key’ through a smartphone.

India: Indian transportation unicorn Ola has recently unveiled two hi-tech electric scooters, Ola S1 and S1 Pro in India, which will be available for purchase from September 2021. Both the electric scooter models offer advanced car-like features such as Reverse Mode, In-built speakers, Proximity sensors, App compatibility, Customizable all-digital touchscreen. Ola S1 is priced at Rs. 99,999 will be available for purchase from September 8, 2021, across 1,000 cities and towns in India. The e-scooter has the biggest boot space enough to fit two helmets. The scooter’s application provides a high level of control to riders, facilitating them to pop the trunk, set geofencing boundaries, create ride profiles, etc. 

Packed with a 2.9kWh battery, Ola S1 provides a leading range of up to 181 km, acceleration of 0-40 km in 3 seconds along with a top speed of 115 kmph. The scooter is powered by a multi-microphone array, 7-inch touchscreen display, and AI speech recognition algorithms so that the riders can enjoy some music and connect their phones. Besides, the Ola S1 has a hill-hold-like feature and cruise control, which are not even available in many entry-level cars. Ola S1 pro priced at Rs. 1,29,999 comes with an 8.5kW motor that churns out 58 Nm of peak torque and a 2.98kWh battery pack to provide a top speed of 90 kmph. The Ola S1 Pro is available in three modes, normal, sports, and hyper. 

On the launch of Ola scooters, the co-founder of OLA said, “We have created our technology in India. By 2025, every two-wheeler in India will be an electric two-wheeler. We want 50 percent of the world's two-wheelers to be made in India.”

TechSci research said, “India has the largest two-wheeler market, which is currently dominated by gas-powered vehicles. The launch of high-performance Ola scooters will help to enhance the affordability and accessibility of e-scooters across the metro as well as third-tier cities. With the rising fuel prices in India, the electric scooters will gain even more traction in the coming years, propelling the growth of the electric vehicles market in India.” 

According to the TechSci Research report, “India Electric Two-Wheeler Market By Vehicle Type (Electric Scooter and Electric Motorcycle), By Voltage Capacity (48-59V, 60-72V, 73-96V & Above 96V), By Battery Type, By Motor Placement, Competition, Forecast, and Opportunities, FY 2026F”, India electric two-wheeler market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 25% during FY2021-2026. The growth can be attributed to the rising number of government initiatives such as FAME-I and FAME-II and the introduction of hi-tech electric scooters in the country are expected to propel India's electric two-wheeler market. 

According to another TechSci Research report on “Global Electric Vehicle Components Market By Component (Battery Pack; Electric Motor; Controller; Vehicle Interface Control Module; Others), By Vehicle Type (Electric Passenger Car; Electric Commercial Vehicle, Electric Two-Wheeler, & Electric Three-Wheeler), By End User (OEM; Aftermarket), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025”, the global electric vehicle components market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 30% during the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the rising awareness about vehicles and government subsidies on the purchase of these vehicles.