We covered Ola’s likely product launches in our previous Daily Update; the CEO had teased a new scooter/moped and a portable battery pack. Ola came good with the announcement yesterday (26-Nov-24) with an online reveal of the portable battery, the PowerPod dock that can work as a home power backup, and two scooters with two variants each.
The battery and the PowerPod system are more important to discuss here. The battery is 1.5kWh, and no chemistry or cell format has been revealed. Since Ola’s scooter batteries use NMC 2170s, they should be used in this portable battery, but we have no confirmation. Ola’s 4680 cells are a few months away, so this battery will unlikely use that.
The PowerPod is a home power backup system. Theoretically, one can remove the scooter’s battery, put it in the PowerPod dock, and use it as an electricity backup when the power from the mains goes off. Such home inverter power backup systems are very popular in India, where the power supply is often interrupted, and power cuts are frequent in smaller cities.
We say theoretically because 1.5 kWh is not much, especially after getting depleted after all day of riding.
Ola has priced the PowerPod at INR 9999 (about USD 120).
Moving onto the scooters, there are two products—the Gig range and the S1Z range. The Gig is a small moped that draws design (no dimensional specs available) inspired by Velocifero Oliver. There are two variants: the Gig has a single 1.5 kWh battery and 25 kph (L1e-A, except this does not get pedal assist) from a 250W hub motor. The range is 112km. It is targeted at the booming Indian gig worker ecosystem.
The Gig+ appears larger and has a 45kph top speed from a 1.5kW hub motor. It can take two portable batteries, though Ola says it can run on one. With a single battery, the Gig+ gets an 81km range and delivers 157km with two battery packs. We think these products have not been homologated yet, so any range claims are the company’s.
The Gig is priced at INR 39,999 (USD 475) and INR 49,999 (USD 592) for the Gig+, with a single battery.
Next, the S1Z is a conventional commuter scooter with two portable battery packs. The choice of accessories separates the two variants.
The S1Z without accessories costs INR 59,999 (USD 710), and the S1Z+, with a single battery option, costs INR 64,999 (USD 770).
The company has started taking bookings, and deliveries are promised for April.
Impact
These are the cheapest scooters in the Ola range and perhaps some of the cheapest scooters in the world. The company is tapping into a new market segment and can get high-volume growth in a segment dominated by small operators importing and assembling Chinese kits.
