By Kamlesh
OLA Electric, on India's 75th Independence Day, revealed a bunch of stuff they have been working on. This includes a new electric scooter variant, lithium-ion cell manufacturing and a sneak peek of Ola's electric car.
Ola electric started the event by showcasing their achievements over the past year and also shared some statistics of the Indian and global vehicle industry.
OLA S1 Electric Scooter
Bhavish announced the launch of the lower variant of the S1 Pro, called the S1. Here are some details announced.
OLA Lithium Ion Cell Manufacturing
Electric Car
- OLA S1 Pro owners have
- avoided 3,274,759 kg of CO2
- travelled 112,922,709 km
- saved ₹ 316,183.525 worth of petrol
- In 7 months, Ola Electric have sold 70,000 OLA S1 Pro electric scooters.
- The world sells 100 million cars a year and 100 million two-wheelers a year
- India sells 3 million cars per year and 20 million two-wheelers
- Only 200 million people in India have access to personal vehicles.
- India is projected to sell 20 million cars and 50 million two-wheelers a year, with these numbers India would be 25% of the world's automotive market, up from 5% today.
- Bhavish continues to point out that, India cannot continue to sell fossil fuel based vehicles. India needs to move to EV's.
- The focus for OLA electric is to build for India and the world.
OLA S1 Electric Scooter
Bhavish announced the launch of the lower variant of the S1 Pro, called the S1. Here are some details announced.
- The S1 will share the same platform as the OLA S1 Pro
- Battery Capacity - 3 kWh
- Range - 141 km ARAI, 128 km Eco, 101 km Normal, 90 km Sports
- Top Speed - 95 kmph
- Software
- MoveOS, Music, Navigation, Companion mobile App, Reverse mode, All future software updates included
- Rs 99,999 introductory price.
- Extended Warranty is available for 5 years for new and existing customers.
- By Diwali 2022, Ola electric will also install 100+ hyper chargers in 50 cities.
OLA Lithium Ion Cell Manufacturing
- India will need 2000 GWh capacity of cell capacity for our EV transition. Ola's aim is to manufacture 200 GWh worth of cells each year
- Bhavish showcased the OLA Battery Innovation Center is a RnD facility for cell research. Two hundred people work at this facility. This facility will have the following facilities
- Cell Characterization
- Wet and Dry labs
- Dry Rooms for cell testing
- Safety and performance test labs
- Bhavish showcased their first Lithium-Ion cell made in India. The cells will be used in OLA electric products by the end of 2023.
- There will be 4 cell variants with 2 form factors manufactured at the Future factory
- The OLA future factory will be expanded to manufacture with acquisition of new land. The aim is to manufacture
- 1 million cars
- 10 million two wheelers
- 200 GWh worth of lithium cells
- 40 acres is reserved for 2-wheeelers, 200 acres for 4-wheelers and 100 acres for cell manufacturing
Electric Car
- Bhavish also spoke about the work happening on their electric car. The Ola Electric car may be launched in 2024 with the following specifications
- 0-100 kmph in 4 seconds
- Range of 500 km
- All glass roof
- Drag co-efficient of less than 0.21
- MoveOS software
- Assisted Driving Capability
- Keyless and Handle-less
- To be launched in 2024
Aerodynamic design of the OLA Electric Car
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Made in India Lithium-Ion cells for the OLA S1 and S1 Pro being tested
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PluginIndia Take
All right! That was fun! I enjoyed Bhavish's passionate speech when he spoke about how India has to move towards electric mobility and can't continue to keep using petrol based vehciles. We don't see CEO's of traditional vehicle manufacturer talk about the urgency with which this change has to happen. Most of them want to continue their ICE vehicle business for as long as they can. Bhavish is on a super charged mission and that will only be good for India's EV industry.
The OLA S1 variant was definitely on cards and at Rs 99,999 the introductory price is pretty good. With a 3 kWh battery pack in normal mode, we should be able to get 90-100 km. It is not a bad deal, IMO.
The good part is that future software updates for the S1 Pro will also be applicable to the S1, unless there are hardware changes between the two variants. For me that does not appear to be the case. The S1 only seems to have a smaller battery pack. They may be using the same motor and other electronics to ensure there is no major disruption to the assembly line. Bhavish announced the extended warranty which enhances the warranty on the battery pack and scooter from the current 3 years to 5 years. That is not a bad idea, IMO. Even though I'm confident major will happen to the battery pack for normal users. I would still want to look at the details like what electronic components are covered and what are not covered. Once I get more clarity on that, I may go for the extended warranty.
The OLA Battery Innovation Center looked awesome. Bhavish did tweet in March of this year, that OLA electric had hired Prabhakar Patil, former CEO of LG Chem Power, onto their company's board. Not sure how involved he is with the development of the Ola Lithium Cell. Bhavish did mention that they are working on multiple chemistries. We are assuming they are working on Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells which are better suited for India. Also 2 form factors of cells would be made. My guess is they will make cylindrical and prismatic cells. 100 acres of the future factory will be reserved for cell manufacturing, which sounds good. We can only expect Made In India cells on vehicles at the end of 2023. All in all a great initiative. No major auto maker has announced investment in cell research and manufacturing and OLA electric is the only one. For that they deserve a lot of credit.
Finally, coming to the electric car, I'm personally disappointed that OLA electric are opting for a performance car rather than building a basic affordable electric car for India's middle class. But I can understand why Bhavish chose this route. A first generation car built on an untested platform would better be built in low volumes initially. This would give them good time to improve the drivetrain, make changes. They can finally launch a mass market affordable electric car after 2026. But all of this is hypothetical. We need to see how things pan out. I was surprised he did not talk about their future foundry RnD office in the UK, where they did mention that a lot of design and RnD work is happening there. One thing is for sure, OLA electric will be a competitor for our traditional car OEM's, many of whom have not even launched a single electric car in the market. Ola's entry can force OEM's like Suzuki, Honda etc to launch electric cars in India.
One specification of the car that caught my attention was the 0.21 CD or drag co-efficient - which essentially compares the drag force, at any speed, with the force it would take to stop all the air in front of the car. Aerodynamic drag and drag force increases with speed. Reducing the drag coefficient in a car improves the vehicle’s performance and increases efficiency. For example the CD of the Jaguar I-Pace which we tested in 2021 was an impressive 0.29. The Ola car takes it down further to 0.21. If Ola can achieve this CD, this would make it a very attractive proposition for me personally just to test the efficiency numbers on highways.
All in all, this was an interesting event, that clearly shows OLA electric mean business and the BIG ICE 2-wheeler and car OEM's will have competition this decade. That is just fantastic news for the EV community!
Watch Bhavish's mission electric 2022 event
The OLA S1 variant was definitely on cards and at Rs 99,999 the introductory price is pretty good. With a 3 kWh battery pack in normal mode, we should be able to get 90-100 km. It is not a bad deal, IMO.
The good part is that future software updates for the S1 Pro will also be applicable to the S1, unless there are hardware changes between the two variants. For me that does not appear to be the case. The S1 only seems to have a smaller battery pack. They may be using the same motor and other electronics to ensure there is no major disruption to the assembly line. Bhavish announced the extended warranty which enhances the warranty on the battery pack and scooter from the current 3 years to 5 years. That is not a bad idea, IMO. Even though I'm confident major will happen to the battery pack for normal users. I would still want to look at the details like what electronic components are covered and what are not covered. Once I get more clarity on that, I may go for the extended warranty.
The OLA Battery Innovation Center looked awesome. Bhavish did tweet in March of this year, that OLA electric had hired Prabhakar Patil, former CEO of LG Chem Power, onto their company's board. Not sure how involved he is with the development of the Ola Lithium Cell. Bhavish did mention that they are working on multiple chemistries. We are assuming they are working on Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells which are better suited for India. Also 2 form factors of cells would be made. My guess is they will make cylindrical and prismatic cells. 100 acres of the future factory will be reserved for cell manufacturing, which sounds good. We can only expect Made In India cells on vehicles at the end of 2023. All in all a great initiative. No major auto maker has announced investment in cell research and manufacturing and OLA electric is the only one. For that they deserve a lot of credit.
Finally, coming to the electric car, I'm personally disappointed that OLA electric are opting for a performance car rather than building a basic affordable electric car for India's middle class. But I can understand why Bhavish chose this route. A first generation car built on an untested platform would better be built in low volumes initially. This would give them good time to improve the drivetrain, make changes. They can finally launch a mass market affordable electric car after 2026. But all of this is hypothetical. We need to see how things pan out. I was surprised he did not talk about their future foundry RnD office in the UK, where they did mention that a lot of design and RnD work is happening there. One thing is for sure, OLA electric will be a competitor for our traditional car OEM's, many of whom have not even launched a single electric car in the market. Ola's entry can force OEM's like Suzuki, Honda etc to launch electric cars in India.
One specification of the car that caught my attention was the 0.21 CD or drag co-efficient - which essentially compares the drag force, at any speed, with the force it would take to stop all the air in front of the car. Aerodynamic drag and drag force increases with speed. Reducing the drag coefficient in a car improves the vehicle’s performance and increases efficiency. For example the CD of the Jaguar I-Pace which we tested in 2021 was an impressive 0.29. The Ola car takes it down further to 0.21. If Ola can achieve this CD, this would make it a very attractive proposition for me personally just to test the efficiency numbers on highways.
All in all, this was an interesting event, that clearly shows OLA electric mean business and the BIG ICE 2-wheeler and car OEM's will have competition this decade. That is just fantastic news for the EV community!
Watch Bhavish's mission electric 2022 event