<ul><li>The center named ‘Futurefoundry’ will be based in Coventry in the UK.</li><li><keyword id="13043147" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-futurefoundry" source="Orion">Ola Futurefoundry</keyword> will employ over 200 designers and automotive engineers.</li><li>The development comes only a few days after <keyword id="4393078" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-electric" source="Orion">Ola Electric</keyword> raised $200 million.</li></ul>After building the world’s largest electric two-wheeler factory in India, Ola Electric is now looking to spend another $100 million in setting up a new advanced engineering and vehicle design centre in the United Kingdom (UK) over the next five years. The centre named as ‘Futurefoundry’ will be based out of Coventry, where companies like Jaguar and Aston Martin have set up their factories. Ola Futurefoundry will employ over 200 designers and automotive engineers. The centre will also partner with education and research institutions in the UK to collaborate on technology research and development. The UK-based centerwork in-synch with the design and engineering teams based at Ola Campus in Bengaluru, India. “Ola Futurefoundry will enable us to tap into the fantastic automotive design and engineering talent in the UK to create the next generation of electric vehicles. Futurefoundry will work in close collaboration with our headquarters in Bangalore, India to help us build the future of mobility as we make EVs [electric vehicles] affordable across the world,” Bhavish Aggarwal, the cofounder and chief executive (CEO) of ANI Technologies, said. ANI Technologies is the parent company of ride hailing giant Ola and EV company Ola Electric. The development comes only a few days after<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-raises-another-200-million-this-time-at-a-valuation-of-5-billion/articleshow/89088739.cms"> Ola Electric raised $200 million</a> from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss and others. The company was valued at $5 billion in this round. The company had also raised $200 million in October, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-raises-200-million-from-softbank-falcon-edge-at-valuation-of-3-billion/articleshow/86649236.cms">at a valuation of $3 billion</a>. Aggarwal on Tuesday also tweeted <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-hints-at-electric-car-launch-when-delayed-scooter-delivery-is-an-issue/articleshow/89115552.cms">an image of a concept car</a>, which has given rise to speculation that the company may be looking to launch electric cars in the near future. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-industries-cipla-pnb-and-other-hot-stocks-on-january-27-after-us-fed-signals-rate-hikes-from-march/slidelist/89146298.cms">Reliance Industries, Cipla, PNB and other hot stocks on January 27 after US Fed signals rate hikes from March</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-you-can-check-the-allotment-status-of-ags-transact-technologies-ipo/articleshow/89125068.cms">AGS Transact Technologies IPO: Here’s how you can check the allotment status</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/adani-wilmars-issue-opens-today-check-out-the-important-dates-and-details-of-the-ipo/articleshow/89125018.cms">FMCG company Adani Wilmar’s issue opens today — Check out the important dates and details of the IPO</a>

Ola Electric is now looking to invest $100 million in setting up an R&D centre in UK that will hire 200 engineers

<keyword id="12085484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-futurefactory" source="Orion">Ola Futurefactory</keyword> is now producing almost 1,000 units of its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ola-electric-scooter-test-rides-begin-in-delhi-bengaluru-ahmedabad-and-kolkata/articleshow/87625927.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters</a> per day, Bhavish Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola Cabs, said on Thursday. In a tweet, Aggarwal shared a picture of the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/top-electric-scooters-and-electric-bikes-in-india-in-january/articleshow/73658940.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> scooters</a> with the caption: "Production just for today so far!" "Futurefactory now producing almost 1000 scooters a day. Opening up purchase window for remaining customers soon," he wrote in the tweet. In December end, <keyword id="4393078" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-electric" source="Orion">Ola Electric</keyword> had revealed that it has dispatched all units of its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters to its customers. The company also organised special events for the first 100 customers in Bengaluru and Chennai for the deliveries of <keyword id="11908704" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-s1" source="Orion">Ola S1</keyword> and S1 Pro e-scooters. Recently, some customers reported problems related to mechanical issues, build quality, as well as the range offered on a full charge. The company later said that all problems with the scooters were fixed.

Ola Futurefactory producing almost 1,000 units of S1, S1 Pro e-scooters a day: CEO

<ul><li><keyword id="4393078" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Electric">Ola Electric</keyword> has raised $100 million of debt from <keyword id="6358007" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bank-of-baroda">Bank of Baroda</keyword>. </li><li>This is termed as the largest long-term debt financing agreement in Indian EV industry. </li><li>The debt will be used towards funding and financial closure of the Phase 1 of <keyword id="11619875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-futurefactory">Ola Futurefactory</keyword>. </li></ul><keyword id="6354720" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> Electric, the electric vehicles (EV) focused arm of ride hailing giant Ola, has raised $100 million (about ₹ 744 crore at current conversion rate) of debt from the Bank of Baroda. Ola and Ola Electric are two separate businesses under ANI Technologies. Ola focuses on ride hailing business, whereas Ola Electric will be looking to enter electric scooter manufacturing and selling. Last year, Ola Electric had announced that it will be investing ₹2,400 crore ($322 million, at current conversion rate) in setting up its first electric two-wheeler factory in Tamil Nadu. The factory will spread across 500-acres and the company hopes to make 10 million vehicles annually. The company aims to manufacture 15% of the world’s e-scooters by summer of 2022 and will also be looking to export these scooters. While Ola was<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/ola-to-layoff-1400-staff-as-covid-19-pandemic-hits-revenues/articleshow/75843605.cms"> laying off 1,400</a> employees in May 2020 due to 96% drop in revenue, Ola Electric had gone ahead to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-acquires-amsterdam-based-ev-startup-etergo-will-now-manufacture-electric-scooters-in-india/articleshow/76026216.cms">acquire</a> Amsterdam-based electric scooter company Etergo BV to launch its own line of scooters. Ola Electric’s EV manufacturing plant is said to be the largest in the world. ANI Technologies’ chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal announced, last month, that Ola Electric’s scooter factory is nearing completion and the company expects to start rolling out vehicles soon. The latest 10-year debt of $100 million will be used towards funding and financial closure of the Phase 1 of Ola Futurefactory, the company’s manufacturing unit for electric two-wheelers. The deal signed between Ola Electric and Bank of Baroda on Monday (July 12) is the largest long-term debt financing agreement in the Indian EV segment, the e-mobility firm said. “Today’s agreement for long term debt financing between Ola and Bank of Baroda signals the confidence of the institutional lenders in our plans to build the world’s largest two-wheeler factory in record time,” Aggarwal said. The development comes only a few days after ride hailing giant Ola raised <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-app-raises-500-million-from-temasek-and-warburg-ahead-of-ipo/articleshow/84261607.cms">$500 million</a> from Temasek and <keyword id="6402698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="warburg-pincus">Warburg Pincus</keyword>, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO). The company’s chief executive and cofounder Aggarwal also infused an undisclosed amount in the round. Notably, Ola Electric was founded in 2017 and entered the unicorn club in 2019, becoming the fastest Indian unicorn. It has raised about $307 million to date from some of the leading investors like <keyword id="260318" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tiger-Global-Management">Tiger Global Management</keyword>, <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, <keyword id="46894" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Sons">Tata Sons</keyword>, Matrix Partners, Hyundai Motor and its subsidiary Kia Motors. A unicorn is a private company valued at or more than $1 billion. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-users-can-now-apply-for-zomato-ipo-from-today/articleshow/84334784.cms">Paytm Money now allows investors to apply for an IPO before opening, Zomato being the first</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/hero-electric-raises-220-crore-to-sell-over-a-million-electric-scooters-a-year/articleshow/84335696.cms">Hero Electric raises ₹220 crore to sell over a million electric scooters a year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-ecommerce-website-is-down-as-the-company-is-hit-by-a-massive-outage/articleshow/84335580.cms">Amazon India product pages are down across the website as buyers begin their Monday morning shopping</a>

Ola Electric has raised $100 million in debt to start producing its electric scooters soon

SoftBank Group-backed <keyword id="4393078" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ola-electric" source="Orion">Ola Electric</keyword> is in talks with multiple global suppliers to build a <keyword id="10272150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="battery-cell-manufacturing" source="Orion">battery cell manufacturing</keyword> plant in India with a capacity of up to 50-gigawatt hours, sources said. As part of its broader electrification push, the firm plans to invest in companies with advanced cell and battery technology, alongside the 50 Gwh battery plant. <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> Electric needs 40 Gwh of battery capacity to power 10 million electric scooters annually. The remainder will be for its electric cars, which the company plans to manufacture in the future. Sources said the cell battery plant may cost around USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,700 crore) and may be built with an initial capacity of 1 Gwh, which will be expanded in the future. Over 40 global suppliers are already in Bengaluru to meet with Ola founder and CEO <keyword id="1543567" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bhavish-aggarwal" source="Orion">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword> at the company's headquarters and are also visiting the Ola Futurefactory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu this week, sources aware of the matter said. Ola Electric, they said, has initiated talks with global suppliers from Germany, Korea, Japan and other hubs to fuel its battery manufacturing ambitions. It currently imports its battery cells from South Korea. Companies like Drr and Siemens also seem to be on the list of suppliers. The battery cell manufacturing sector is dominated by the likes of CATL, LG, Energy Solutions, and Panasonic, which supply to automakers such as Tesla and Volkswagen. Industry experts believe that one of the world's youngest EV companies is keen to begin cell manufacturing by next year. Aggarwal has already stated that India can soon replace China and emerge as the global hub for electric vehicles (EVs). Towards this end, Ola plans to develop the entire ecosystem -- cell and battery tech, global supply chains, interconnected as well as autonomous vehicle technologies. Ola Electric is the only Indian auto and EV company that has been selected by the government under its ambitious Rs 80,000 crore cell PLI scheme to set up an advanced cell manufacturing factory in 2 years. Its cell Production Linked Incentive (PLI) bid was for the maximum allowed bid capacity of 20 GWh. According to sources, Ola is also looking to set up an even larger 50 GWh gigafactory and a battery innovation centre to support its two-wheeler and four-wheeler roadmap for India and the world. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-may-2022-maruti-tata-and-hyundai-cars-in-top-10/slidelist/91956448.cms">6 out of 10 top selling cars in India in May 2022 are from Maruti Suzuki</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ola-okinawa-and-hero-electric-sales-down-in-may-after-a-spate-of-fire-and-other-incidents/articleshow/91934461.cms">Ola, Okinawa and Hero Electric sales crater in May after a spate of fire and other incidents</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/auto-sales-may-2022-tata-motors-mahindra-continue-their-growth-maruti-suzuki-bounces-back/articleshow/91940740.cms">Auto sales data May 2022: Tata Motors, Mahindra continue their growth, Maruti Suzuki bounces back</a>

Ola Electric is reportedly in talks with global suppliers to build a battery cell manufacturing unit in India

<ul><li>The Ola electric scooters delivered to customers are currently missing some important features.</li><li>Features like cruise control, hill hold and navigation have not been provided.</li><li>The company has claimed that the features will be added with an update in June.</li></ul>After several delays, Ola has finally started deliveries of its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters to customers who had pre-booked the electric scooters and paid the balance booking amount. However, Ola has run into fresh troubles even after <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/auto/bike-news/article/ola-s1-and-s1-pro-electric-scooters-delivery-delayed-yet-again/843324">delayed deliveries</a>. The delivered scooters are <a href="https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/two-wheelers/the-wait-for-cruise-control-hill-hold-in-ola-electric-scooters-may-get-longer-41641703390815.html">reportedly</a> missing some features such as cruise control, hill hold, navigation assist and hyper mode. Ola has now clarified that the company will push out a software update that will add these features to the electric scooters. The software update will reportedly take three to six months to reach all the customers. “So features like cruise control, hill hold, navigation etc. are coming up in the next few months by June. That is what we are going to deliver and it is not just about those features,” said Varun Dubey, chief marketing officer, Ola Electric. This means that users will have to use their scooters without these features for the next six months. Ola has said that the company will also add other features along with the missing features in the coming updates. “As consumers continue to use the scooter and live with the scooter, we will learn and we will keep adding more and more features which consumers will continue to get," Dubey added. He went on to add that the scooters are not just a hardware platform but a software platform as well for the company. “In September when we had opened up the windows and done the media test rides, we had explained it clearly that the software is going to come in stages and we are going to release these as important software updates over several months in 2022.” Another issue that customers had reported is the discrepancy in the range of the <keyword id="11908704" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-s1" source="Orion">Ola S1</keyword> Pro. Speaking about this, Dubey clarified that the range of 181 km is certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) based on ideal conditions but the real-world range of the scooters is 135 km. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ola-futurefactory-producing-almost-1000-units-of-s1-s1-pro-e-scooters-a-day-ceo/articleshow/88746759.cms">Ola Futurefactory producing almost 1,000 units of S1, S1 Pro e-scooters a day: CEO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/top-electric-scooters-and-electric-bikes-in-india-in-january/articleshow/73658940.cms">Top electric scooters and electric bikes in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-electric-cars-and-suvs-in-2022-in-india/articleshow/88812101.cms">Top electric cars to watch out for in 2022</a>

Ola electric scooters are being shipped out with unfinished software despite delay in deliveries

As part of its ambitious charging infrastructure goal, <keyword id="4393078" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-electric" source="Orion">Ola Electric</keyword> will install more than 4,000 charging points for its electric scooters across cities in next year. In a tweet, <keyword id="1543567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhavish-aggarwal" source="Orion">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword>, Founder and CEO, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword>, said that Hypercharger roll out has begun across cities. "At key BPCL pumps as well as residential complexes. 4000+ points up through next year. We're installing across India and will make them operational in 6-8 weeks. Will be free for use till end June 22 for all customers," he said in a tweet late Tuesday. Ola has expanded into advanced two-wheeler electric vehicles manufacturing at its Futurefactory. It has already begun deliveries of its e-scooters — Ola S1 and S1 Pro — albeit delayed a bit. Ola in April unveiled the 'Hypercharger Network', a charging network for its upcoming two-wheeler products starting with the <keyword id="10402715" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-scooter" source="Orion">Ola Scooter</keyword> to be launched in India in the coming months. According to the company, the charging network will be the widest and densest electric two-wheeler charging network in the world, with more than 100,000 charging points across 400 cities. In the first year alone, the company is setting up over 5,000 charging points across 100 cities in India, the company had said in a statement. With this network, the company's upcoming Ola Scooter can be charged 50 per cent in just 18 minutes for a 75 km range. "By creating the world's largest and densest two-wheeler charging network, we will dramatically accelerate the customer adoption of electric vehicles and rapidly move the industry to electric," according to Aggarwal. SEE ALSO: <h2 style="margin-bottom: 8px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 22px; line-height: 28px; font-family: LabGrotesque-Black, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; order: 3; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="list-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/xiaomi-12-vs-xiaomi-12-pro-smartphone-processor-camera-and-price-comparison/slidelist/88558439.cms">Xiaomi 12 vs Xiaomi 12 Pro: Processor, camera, display, price and more</a></h2><h2 style="margin-bottom: 8px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.5; font-family: LabGrotesque-Black, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="list-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/upcoming-new-laptops-for-home-and-office-in-2022/slidelist/88542889.cms">Upcoming laptops in 2022</a></h2>

Ola Electric aims to install more than 4,000 EV charging points across cities in 2022

New Delhi, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Monday said its electric scooter factory will be run entirely by women and employ over 10,000 women at full scale. "Aatmanirbhar Bharat requires Aatmanirbhar women! Proud to share that the Ola Futurefactory will be run ENTIRELY by women, 10,000+ at full scale! It'll be the largest all-women factory in the world!! Slightly smiling face," he said in a tweet. He also shared a video featuring the first batch of women hired to work at the facility. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Aatmanirbhar Bharat requires Aatmanirbhar women! Proud to share that the Ola Futurefactory will be run ENTIRELY by women, 10,000+ at full scale! It’ll be the largest all-women factory in the world!!🙂 Met our first batch, inspiring to see their passion!<a href="https://t.co/ukO7aYI5Hh">https://t.co/ukO7aYI5Hh</a> <a href="https://t.co/7WSNmflKsd">pic.twitter.com/7WSNmflKsd</a>&mdash; Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) <a href="https://twitter.com/bhash/status/1437305316308176898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>]]></cdata></div> In a blogpost, Aggarwal said the company welcomed the first batch this week and "at full capacity, Futurefactory will employ over 10,000 women, making it the world's largest women-only factory and the only all-women automotive manufacturing facility globally". This is the first in a series of initiatives Ola is undertaking to create a more inclusive workforce and provide economic opportunities for women across the board, he added. Aggarwal said the company has invested significantly to train and upskill them in core manufacturing skills and they will be responsible for the entire production of every vehicle manufactured at Ola Futurefactory. "Enabling women with economic opportunities improve not just their lives but that of their families and indeed the whole community. In fact, studies show that just providing women parity in the labour workforce can grow India's GDP by 27 per cent," he said. He pointed out that in manufacturing, the participation of women remains the lowest at just 12 per cent. "For India to be the world's manufacturing hub, we must prioritise upskilling and generating employment for our women workforce," Aggarwal added. Ola had announced a Rs 2,400-crore investment last year for setting up its first electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu. Touted to be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility, the company had stated that it would initially start with 10 lakh annual production capacity and then scale it up to 20 lakh, in line with market demand, in the first phase. When fully completed, Ola Electric had claimed that its plant would have an annual capacity of one crore units, "that is 15 per cent of the world's entire total two-wheeler production". The company had, on August 15, unveiled its Ola S1 electric scooter in two variants — S1 and S1 Pro — at Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,999, respectively (ex-showroom including FAME II subsidy and excluding state subsidies). While the sale was to start on September 8, it postponed the sale process by a week to September 15 as it faced "technical difficulties" in making the website for purchases live for customers. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/loss-making-cars24-is-worth-more-than-a-profitable-cartrade/articleshow/86158047.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Loss-making Cars24 is worth more than a profitable CarTrade ⁠— here’s why</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-infra-reliance-industries-zomato-and-other-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-september-13/slidelist/86156619.cms">Reliance Infra, Reliance Industries, Zomato and other top stocks to watch out for on September 13</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/the-first-transgender-person-elected-bishop-in-a-major-christian-church-wants-to-inspire-hope-and-expand-peoples-minds-about-trans-people/articleshow/83528986.cms">The first transgender bishop in a major Christian church wants to inspire hope and expand people's minds about trans people</a>

Ola electric scooter factory will be run only by women, says CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

<ul><li><keyword id="10402715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-scooter">Ola Scooter</keyword>, the first electric vehicle from Ola, is now available for pre-booking. </li><li>Interested buyers can book their Ola Scooter by paying a refundable deposit of ₹499 on the company’s website. </li><li><keyword id="4393078" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Electric">Ola Electric</keyword>’s Bhavish Aggarwal says this is the first in a range of electric two-wheelers from the company. </li></ul>Ola Electric has started accepting pre-bookings of its first electric scooter, simply called the Ola Scooter. Starting today (July 15), customers can pre-book their Ola Scooter by paying a refundable deposit of ₹499. Ola says that the customers who pre-book their scooter will get priority delivery. Those interested can head over to <a href="http://olaelectric.com">olaelectric.com</a> to reserve their Ola Scooter now. “India’s EV [electric vehicle] revolution begins today as we open reservations for our electric scooter, the first in our range of upcoming EVs. With its incredible performance, technology and design along with aggressive pricing, it will help accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, the chairman and chief executive officer of Ola. <div type="image" title="Bhavish Aggarwal on Ola Scooter in front of Vidhana Soudha_white logo" msid="84441651" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Bhavish Aggarwal on Ola Scooter&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The opening of pre-bookings for the scooter comes close on the heels of Ola Electric <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-has-raised-100-million-in-debt-to-start-producing-its-electric-scooters-soon/articleshow/84338315.cms">raising $100 million</a> (approx. ₹740 crore) in the form of debt from Bank of Baroda. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="‘First in a range of electric two-wheelers’" comment="subhead" text="‘First in a range of electric two-wheelers’">‘First in a range of electric two-wheelers’</cmsannotation> The Ola Scooter won’t be the only electric scooter from the ride hailing giant – the company says this is just the first in a range of Ola electric two-wheelers. It will be manufactured at the Ola FutureFactory in Tamil Nadu. The company says it is working to operationalise a capacity of 2 million vehicles, and intends to hit the full 10 million capacity by next year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-has-raised-100-million-in-debt-to-start-producing-its-electric-scooters-soon/articleshow/84338315.cms">Ola Electric has raised $100 million in debt to start producing its electric scooters soon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/hero-electric-raises-220-crore-to-sell-over-a-million-electric-scooters-a-year/articleshow/84335696.cms">Hero Electric raises ₹220 crore to sell over a million electric scooters a year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/the-designer-for-bentley-aston-martin-and-jaguar-will-now-work-on-ola-electric-new-models/articleshow/82383151.cms">The designer for Bentley, Aston Martin and Jaguar will now work on Ola Electric's new models</a>

Ola Electric kickstarts pre-bookings of its first electric scooter at ₹499

Ola Electric on Sunday forayed into the green mobility space with the launch of its first electric scooter, Ola S1, at a price starting from Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom). The Ola S1 electric scooter would come in two trims -- S1 and S1 Pro -- carrying a price tag of Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,999, respectively. "I want to underline that it is going to be the best scooter ever made. It has the best design, performance and technology," Ola Chairman and Group Executive Officer Bhavish Aggarwal told reporters here. With never seen before technology, design and features, the company is looking for a global leadership in the electric two-wheeler segment, he added. The company will officially open Ola S1 for purchase from September 8, and start deliveries across 1,000 cities and towns in October. Till September 8, the company will keep accepting the bookings at Rs 499, Aggarwal stated. He noted that Ola S1 solves one of the biggest challenges which has hampered the growth of the EV sector in India has been the upfront cost. "In states with active subsidy grants, Ola S1 will be much more affordable than many petrol scooters. For instance, after state subsidy in Delhi, the S1 would cost just Rs 85,009 whereas in Gujarat it would be only Rs 79,000," Aggarwal said. The company has also tied up with banks and financial institutes for an EMI plan starting at Rs 2,999, he added. The Ola S1 comes with a range of 181 km, a top speed of 115 km per hour and can be fully charged in less than 40 minutes with a fast charger, and around six hours with the portable charger that will come with the scooter and can be installed at homes. The scooter comes with various features like reverse mode, hill hold function, driving modes and cruise control and takes less than 3 seconds to cross 0-40 km per hour. It comes with keyless lock and unlock system and safety features like an anti-theft alert system and geo-fencing. "Scooters are meant for the young but the industry has made such a vibrant category dull and boring and we are hopeful that we are going to change that," Aggarwal quipped. The scooter comes in 10 colours with in-house development 8.5 KW motor and 3.97 kWh battery packs. Ola is setting up a manufacturing plant, spread across 500 acres, in Tamil Nadu. The company has previously said it is investing Rs 2,400 crore for setting up the facility that will create nearly 10,000 jobs and will be the world's largest scooter manufacturing facility upon completion. Aggarwal noted that the first phase of the 'Futurefactory' is nearing completion. "By the end of the month, it is going to be ready. We bought the land in January and we put up the first pillar at April-end," he noted. The company will initially start with 10 lakh annual production capacity and then scale it up to 20 lakh, in line with market demand, in the first phase. When fully completed, the plant is going to have an annual capacity of one crore units that is 15 per cent of the world's entire total two-wheeler production. "We are building this scale because it is the only way of accelerating this transition to sustainable mobility," Aggarwal noted. Asked when the company expects to reach the one-crore production mark, he said: "Ten million production depends how fast the market scales up. We are estimating it to be within the next two years." "Everything is being done by us. We are working with suppliers for mechanical parts but core parts of electrification are being done by us in-house. It is part of our strategy to control the technology ourselves and also to design the components ourselves and then manufacture them on our own," Aggarwal said. Ola Electric would source items like plastics and tyres from outside vendors and for that, it plans to build an entire ecosystem around the factory, he added. On charging infrastructure, Aggarwal noted that the company would have established presence across relevant cities by the time deliveries commence in October. "Charging station roll out will follow sales rollout, so it will be sales, then charging stations but every city will have at least relevant scale as we begin," Aggarwal said. Ola had earlier stated that it would like to have 5,000 charging stations across 300 cities and towns across India. "That's the goal, we will be targeting that...The company has tied up with various partners and those will get operationalised once deliveries begin," Aggarwal said, adding that all kinds of developers, office complexes and even hospitals would be covered under the exercise. He noted that the scooter would have a hybrid approach when it came to actual sales. The company would have physical experience centres and online channel to sell the product. The sales outlets or the experience centres would come up across the country over the next few months, Aggarwal said. The executive pointed out that the company has received strong demand from about 1,000 towns and cities. "The EV revolution is here to stay whether incumbents like it or not. Consumers have shifted in their mindsets and before we know it, people will be buying only electric," he noted. He further said: "When we are going to share our bookings number with you in few days, I can assure you that it is going to be the highest number of reservations ever for any automobile launch in the country." On exports, he said the shipments would begin soon. "We have been very clear about the fact that we can build in India for the world and (demand for) two-wheelers is growing globally. All across the world, especially after COVID, people want personal mobility options and we want to be the global leaders in this segment," Aggarwal noted. The company's electric scooter would be relevant in markets like ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), LATAM (Latin America) and Europe, he said. "The traditional markets for two wheelers have been Asian markets, LATAM and Africa have been growth markets for two-wheelers but the large volumes have always come from the Asian markets," Aggarwal said. Especially after COVID, even the West has opened up and more and more people in Europe want to buy electric two-wheelers, he added. Even in the US and North America, people have started to experience two-wheelers for urban mobility, Aggarwal said. "Over the next four-five years, we will see a lot of evolution. Lot of opportunities will open up globally for two-wheelers and they will have to be electric," he stated. On competition with other electric vehicle brands, Aggarwal stated: "In two-wheelers, the incumbents have not properly invested for electrification and we believe we will absolutely lead the way as our technology is ahead by a few years". When asked if the company is also looking at tapping into the Chinese market, he said: "China is not an immediate priority for us". "There are enough markets beyond that. The Chinese two-wheeler market is a unique one, while it's all electric, its all low-speed, low-quality electric vehicles. Transformation is happening there as well," he added. Aggarwal noted that the company has been very careful to source almost all the components from India, with only the battery cells coming from South Korea. Asked about the chip shortage situation globally, he said the company is dealing with the issue and has been able to overcome the challenge for the short-term. "It is something that the industry would have to deal with over the next 6-9 months...It is a challenge, so we are trying to deal with it," he said. Aggarwal noted that the company plans to enter various segments, including an electric car, in the coming days. He, however, did not share any details. 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Ola S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters launched starting at ₹99,999

Before Elon Musk-led Tesla finally makes its India entry, ride-hailing platform Ola on Monday announced world's largest two-wheeler manufacturing facility called Ola FutureFactory that will have annual production capacity of one crore vehicles and will be operational by 2022. The factory will generate 10,000 direct employment, along with additional jobs being created by Ola vendors and suppliers. According to <keyword id="1543567" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhavish-Aggarwal">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword>, Chairman and Group CEO, the Phase 1 will be ready with initial annual capacity of two million around June this year. Built over 500 acres in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, the facility will roll out one scooter every two seconds at full capacity, Aggarwal told mediapersons. "It will have 10 production lines running at full capacity. It will be the most advanced two-wheeler factory with 3,000 AI-powered robots built on Industry 4.0 principles," he said. It will be an integrated manufacturing facility, addressing all needs from battery to finished goods. <keyword id="4393078" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Electric">Ola Electric</keyword> has also released first teaser visuals of the much-anticipated <keyword id="433124" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-scooter">electric scooter</keyword>. The announcement came as Tesla made its official to enter the country and chose Karnataka over Tamil Nadu to firm up its roll-out plans. Ola Electric last year acquired the Netherlands-based Etergo BV, an innovative electric scooter company known for its award-winning AppScooter for an undisclosed sum, and announced its foray into the premium electric two-wheeler market, both globally and nationally. "With electric, digitally connected capabilities, two-wheelers will further emerge as the most preferred urban mobility paradigm around the world and empower every consumer. We look forward to building the best global capabilities in engineering, design, and manufacturing for these products to be made here in India," Aggarwal had said. With European design, strong engineering collaboration and Indian manufacturing and supply chain, Ola Electric said it aims to transform the over 100 million-strong global two-wheeler market, including more than 20-million Indian two-wheeler market, into a clean energy, digital future. The company has plans to set up extensive charging and swapping networks around the country. Ola Electric is also working with India's leading power distribution companies towards developing a conducive EV ecosystem through the establishment of battery swapping and charging stations in New Delhi. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/oyo-vs-zo-zostel-claims-victory-while-the-ritesh-agarwal-led-firm-says-theres-still-room-to-win/articleshow/81386851.cms">OYO vs Zo – Zostel claims victory while the Ritesh Agarwal-led firm says there’s still room to win</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/the-510-crore-ipo-of-easemytrip-is-now-open-for-public-subscription-/articleshow/81387576.cms">Here is why analysts maintain a bullish mood for the ₹510 crore IPO of bootstrapped online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-announces-a-series-of-initiatives-on-womens-day/articleshow/81388483.cms">Google announces a series of initiatives on Women’s day – a $25 million fund, support for one million female entrepreneurs in India and a new feature on Google Maps</a>

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