Ride-hailing major Ola is venturing into the electric scooter retailing with the first vehicle likely to launch soon. As per a report by PTI, Ola Electric is expected to launch its first electric scooter by January next year. This comes after the recent development of Ola looking to start manufacturing electric scooters in India.

Ola-Etervo BV Tie Up

These scooters will initially be manufactured at a facility in Netherlands and will be sold in Europe as well as India. For reference, in May this year, Ola announced the acquisition of Amsterdam-based Etergo BV for an undisclosed amount which bolstered its design and engineering capabilities.

As of now, there has been no official word from Ola regarding the current development. Developed as an all-electric state-of-the-art App scooter, Etergo BV uses swappable high energy density batteries to deliver a range of up to 240 Km. The company has had developmental experiences with leading automotive brands such as Tesla, General Motors, BMW, Jaguar and Ferrari in the past.

The new Ola Electric Scooter is expected to be priced competitively against its fossil fuelled counterparts and the brand is looking to tap into majority of 20 million units of the Indian two-wheeler market. Some sources convey that Ola intends to sell at least a million e-scooters in India in its first year.

Ola's Future EV Plans

Ola is currently in talks with various state governments to set up an electric scooter manufacturing facility in India. This facility is slated to be the largest two-wheeler manufacturing facility in the country with an annual production capacity of 2 million units.

This move to manufacture and retail electric scooters might pitch the SoftBank-backed brand as a worthy business opponent to Ather Energy, Hero Electric, Okinawa, Bajaj Auto and others which offer e-scooters in India. Plus it seems the right time for companies to venture into a business that has been extensively promoted by Central and several state governments by offering lucrative incentives.

Future holds bright prospects electric vehicles (EV) in India and Ola might want to utilize this opportunity to expand its avenues. The shared mobility industry took a huge hit this year after the outbreak of novel coronavirus which shrunk the business. In the near future as well, people will prefer owning a vehicle rather than sharing mobility. Hence, it is imperative for Ola to venture into some other business that might return some great numbers.

As per our previous report, production for electric scooters in India is targeted to commence in the next 18 months by Ola. The manufacturing site is expected to adopt Industry 4.0 philosophy and will use solar power and will have test tracks.