Ola Electric on September 15 commenced the sale process of its electric scooter S1.
The electric scooter, which comes in two trims —Ola S1 and S1, is available to purchase on the Ola App only currently, and not on the website.
While the sale was to start on September 8, it postponed the process by a week to September 15, as it faced "technical difficulties" in making the website for purchases live for customers.
Ola is starting the purchase in batches, and prioritising users based on their dates of reservation, the company said in a statement.
"You will need to pay an advance of ₹20,000 for purchasing your Ola S1/Ola S1 Pro, and the rest before shipment. You can also avail convenient EMI options when you make the rest of the payment.
“Your advance is completely refundable if you wish to cancel your booking. Cancellation is allowed only till the scooter is shipped from the Ola Future factory," it said in a blog post.
Deliveries will start from October 2021. Buyers will be notified of estimated tentative delivery dates within 72 hours of purchase.
Once a person's purchase window opens, it will notify them through email, SMS, and/or push notification. They can visit the updated Ola app (latest version), click on the Ola Scooter banner on the home page, and initiate the purchase process, the blog said.
"Bring the revolution home! Ola S1 purchase is rolling out now! We're opening it in the order of reservation. Look for your invitation email or check the Ola app to know when it's live for you! #JoinTheRevolution," Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal tweeted.
The Union Cabinet on September 15 approved a ₹26,058 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for auto, auto-components and drone industries to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities.
Terming the Cabinet’s PLI approval for the auto sector as a momentous occasion, Mr. Aggarwal in a separate tweet said India will become a global EV hub, “thanks for the visionary step”.
"India is ready to reject petrol and fully commit to electric," he added.
Buyers can also insure their Ola scooter during purchase. With insurance offerings by Ola Financial Services, they can choose policies from various insurance partners.
Ola's e-scooter comes in 10 colours with an in-house developed 8.5 KW motor and 3.97 kWh battery packs.
The company had, on August 15, unveiled its Ola S1 electric scooter in the two variants — S1 and S1 Pro — at ₹99,999 and ₹1,29,999, respectively (ex-showroom including FAME II subsidy and excluding state subsidies).
Ola Electric had opened pre-launch bookings of its electric scooters in July for ₹499 and had received 1 lakh orders in just 24 hours. However, the company has not disclosed how many orders it has received so far.
Ola is setting up a manufacturing plant, spread across 500 acres, in Tamil Nadu.
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% of the world's entire total two-wheeler production".
