Ola To Unveil Electric Auto In Next Six Months, Car Not In The Works

Ola Electric Pvt. Ltd. is planning to unveil a production-ready version of its electric three-wheeler in the next six months, according to a company executive aware of the plans. An electric car is not in the works.

But even before that, Ola will launch its first electric motorcycle on Aug. 15. Founder CEO Bhavish Aggarwal teased the motorcycle in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

The Ola electric scooter was launched on Independence Day in 2021.

“Ola’s key focus continues to be electric scooters and motorcycles," the person cited earlier said, requesting anonymity. The electric three-wheeler has been under development for about three years now, this person said. An electric car, however, is not in the works.

The Ola Auto will compete with the likes of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s Treo, Piaggio Ace and Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s RE.

Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that Ola Electric has suspended its plans to launch an electric car to focus on two-wheelers. It was in 2022 that Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal had in a video talked about plans to launch an electric sportscar in two years’ time. He reiterated those plans in an interview with the Forbes magazine last year. 

The product plans assume significance against the backdrop of Ola Electric’s impending initial public offering. India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, has green-lit the IPO with observations. The company is now ironing those out.

Launched on Aug. 15, 2021, Ola Electric’s scooter is the best-selling electric two-wheeler in India, cornering nearly a third of the nascent but rapidly-growing market. The incumbents, including TVS Motor Co. Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd., as well as upstarts such as crosstown rival Ather Energy Ltd. are snapping at Ola’s heels. Incidentally, Ather Energy also has an IPO in the works.

Ola Electric, meanwhile, has also ventured into manufacturing lithium-ion batteries after it won a production-linked incentive scheme to build out a 20 GW capacity. The so-called Gigafactory in Tamil Nadu will go onstream early next year. The batteries produced will go into Ola’s electric two-wheelers first.