Ola Electric, which is financed by Softbank, has its sights set on breaking into the market for four-wheeled electric vehicles after creating an ecosystem for electric two-wheelers. The car is anticipated to make its debut in 2024, according to the company’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, and it would reportedly have a 500-kilometer range on a single charge.
Aggarwal added that Ola intends to create two vehicle platforms and six distinct car models, all of which will be produced in its mega plant in Tamil Nadu once it has been expanded.
A 500-kilometer range and a 4-second acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour were declared, despite the fact that little else about the car has been made public. To put it in perspective, Tata’s Nexon EV advertises a 437-kilometer range. The Tata electric car accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in around 9.4 seconds.
Though Ola has not yet confirmed the form factor of its new vehicle, it is important to keep in mind that the Tata Nexon is a small SUV. A hatchback was seen in a teaser photograph that Aggarwal shared in July of this year.
Ola announced last month that it has signed a contract to produce batteries in India through the Center’s production-linked incentive (PLI) programme. With a maximum capacity of 20 gigawatt hours (GWh) for its March bid, the company claimed to be the only Indian electric mobility company chosen by the government under the Rs 80,000 crore cell PLI scheme.
Aggarwal displayed a battery module on the screen and asserted that Ola Electric had created the cells used in it, marking a first for an Indian automaker. “We missed the manufacturing revolutions in semiconductor, solar, electronics, and other fields. However, the use of electric cells and batteries is still in its infancy worldwide. We can dominate the market if we invest now and in large amounts, he claimed.
Data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA) shows that Ola Electric had a market share of 0.79 percent in the two-wheeler EV segment in the fiscal year 2021–22 (April–March). Hero Motocorp had the majority of the market, with a share of more over 32%. According to data from FADA, Ola has a 0.34 percent market share in July 2022.
Following scores of instances of two-wheelers catching fire, the business announced in April that it was recalling more than 1,400 of its electric scooters. In March, one of the firm’s scooters caught fire while parked on the side of the road in a busy location of Pune. The incident was later referred to as a “isolated incident” by the manufacturer.
The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) was enlisted by the Road Transport Ministry to investigate the accidents and recommend corrective action after they occurred.
Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, issued a warning to EV producers in April, requesting that they quickly recall all batches of vehicles that were defective. He also announced that the government would shortly release quality-focused regulations for electric vehicles.
