Ola Electric Unveils Gen 3 Scooter To Reclaim Pole Position In EV Race

Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. has launched the third generation of its once best-selling scooters, with an eye on reclaiming the numero uno position in India’s fast-growing electric two-wheeler market.

The Ola Gen 3 scooters across four models—the S1 X, S1 X+, S1 Pro and S1 Pro+—get several segment-first features, including dual-channel ABS and a so-called “brake-by-wire” technology that has been patented by billionaire founder Bhavish Aggarwal himself. The scooter does away with a hub motor for a mid-mounted motor cradled in the chassis. The company has chosen to go with the more traditional chain drive from belt drive in previous models.

The top-end Ola S1 Pro+ has become the first Indian electric scooter to be powered by an in-house battery. It gets the ‘4680 Bharat Cell’ manufactured at the Ola Gigafactory in Tamil Nadu. It’s rated at 13 kW for a claimed range of 320 km on a single charge.

The scooters, in all, get a claimed range of 242-320 km depending on the size and power of the battery. They are priced at Rs 79,999 to Rs 1,69,999, ex-showroom Bengaluru. These are introductory prices are valid for seven days. Deliveries for the same will commence in mid-February.

“The competition is not even matching up to our Gen 1. And we are already at Gen 3,” Aggarwal said at the launch event in Bengaluru on Friday. “Gen 3 is going to change the paradigm of the (two-wheeler) industry. We have set a new benchmark, as we had done with the previous generations.”

The Ola Gen 2 scooters will be sold alongside the Gen 3 models, with prices ranging from Rs 69,999 to Rs 1,14,999. Essentially, Ola Electric now has a scooter at price points across a lakh rupees.