Ola Electric teases a new battery.
India-based Ola Electric has quickly become the leader in the Indian E2W market, benefitting from the half-hearted participation of the ICE incumbents. The Ola scooter range uses a floorboard-mounted fixed battery, the same layout rival Ather Energy uses. This packaging improves handling by lowering the CG. It remains that way because the original Etergo scooter that Ola acquired came with the design.
However, the fixed battery is not a great solution for customers without access to power outlets at the street level. It is also challenging for customers who commute long distances, as battery recharge times can easily exceed 5-6 hours.
For such use cases, a portable or swappable battery system allowing customers to remove the battery to charge it at home or swap it at a station is a better solution.
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has teased a portable battery and a new scooter/moped. In a tweet from 23rd November, he showed (what looks like) a 3D-printed prototype of the battery and a two-wheeler with an under-seat battery bay.
There are no energy or chemistry specifications, though physical dimensions indicate that this is likely a 1.3-1.5kWh battery. Ola is setting up its cell plant to manufacture 4680-format cylindrical cells, and the pack may be designed with them.
The void under the scooter/moped’s seat indicates that two batteries may fit there, indicating that this is likely a high-speed (>25 kph) two-wheeler.
Impact
We are just days away from Honda launching its first electric scooter in the Indian market. The scooter is energized with 2X Honda MPPs, and the company plans to roll out a swapping network in at least some cities, starting from Bangalore. Customers in other cities would use the home dock.
Honda is an important competitor—the Activa ICE scooter outsells the entire competition. So, when Honda goes electric, it will be keenly watched as the Japanese manufacturer has a very loyal ICE customer base from which to draw. Honda has also been testing the Benly e: commercial scooter in India for many months. It is reasonable to expect that the Activa e: may be followed by the Benly e: as both use the MPP.
Ola’s reveal a few days before the Honda launch looks pre-emptive. The Indian company often makes very early product announcements, and we won’t be surprised if this battery pack and the scooter are still a few quarters away. In June this year, Ola announced that the cells from its upcoming Gigafactory would be ready to deploy in early 2025. It would be logical to expect the portable batteries to be designed with 4680s rather than 2170s from Ola’s existing supply chain.
Portable (and likely swappable) battery packs are a good fit for fleet use. Ola has an advantage over competitors as its sister concern, Ola Cabs, is one of India's most extensive ride-hailing services. Ola Cabs also has a developing two-wheeler arm that deploys Ola Electric scooters. A portable battery and a corresponding commercial-use scooter would allow Ola Electric the flexibility to exploit (almost) captive sales. This is important for Ola Electric as sales and market share have been under pressure.
Outside of Ola Cabs, the battery pack and scooter run into a highly competitive, fast-growing fleet deployment market that rents scooters to gig workers. We count Honda, Battery Smart, Sun Mobility, Yuma Energy, RACEnergy, Gogoro, and Moeving as operating in space, all in different stages of evolution. More players are entering the space, which has become a hotbed for small scooter brands and battery operators to collaborate. Scooter manufacturers like Bounce Infinity, and Lectrix are collaborating with multiple battery suppliers at the same time.
From the start, Ola Electric may not have an independent battery play, that is offering its pack in other manufacturers. However, we cannot discount an independent battery pack play with retail scooter sales under pressure and Ola's cell gigafactory turning on in a few months.
