Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro Four new electric scooters from Ola Electric aim to transform sustainable mobility in India, offering affordable prices, ranges of up to 97 miles, and innovative features like removable batteries and bidirectional charging.
Instagram – @OlaElectric
Ola Electric, the highly acclaimed Indian company behind e-green mobility solutions, has now rolled out different models of e-scooters, striving to bring eco-friendly transport within everyone’s reach. The designs cater to both commercial and personalized needs and hence are considered affordable by many.
The Ola Gig and Gig+ e-scooters are designed to keep commercial mobility needs in view, reliable, and practical. Gig has a 1.5 kWh detachable battery with a range of as much as 70 miles and reaches a top speed of 15.5 mph. The Gig+, meanwhile, comes in a regular 50-mile single-battery model and an upgraded 97-mile model with two batteries.
Both models have one ace up their sleeve: bidirectional charging via the Ola PowerPod system, which turns the battery into a portable energy generator.
For those people who want no-nonsense, easy, and inexpensive solutions, these scooters are a workable option without fancy technological overkill.
To the students and urban commuters: Ola S1 Z and S1 Z+
Designed for the daily needs of students, commuters, and senior citizens, Ola S1 Z and S1 Z+ maintain a balanced performance with intelligent design. Equipped with dual 1.5 kWh batteries, both bikes offer up to 91 miles on a single charge. They have a top speed of 43 mph and can go from 0 to 25 mph in just 4.8 seconds, making them ideal to tackle city traffic.
A key differentiator is the display: whereas the S1 Z is fitted with a 12-inch LCD screen, the S1 Z+ sports a 14-inch screen for extended use.
Competitive pricing and availability
The most impressive of all is the price point, which is as follows and competes with a few electric bicycles as well:
- Ola Gig: ~$482
- Ola Gig+: ~$603
- Ola S1 Z+: ~$785
Currently, one can pre-order these scooters on Ola Electric’s official website, with sales expected to start in April 2025. Presently, it is sold only within the Indian continent.
A model for affordable electric mobility?
While this launch looks more like a local-market launch, the move by Ola Electric raises some interesting questions: Can true inclusive electric mobility be emulated elsewhere in the world? India, with its affordable and simplistic scooters, may just prove to be an example for those countries where the transition to electric is still a farfetched dream due to high costs and a lack of proper infrastructure.
Source: Olaelectric.com
