I don’t see ola app listed in play store…I remember long time back when I had no ather, still I was able to search and install Ather app…of course I couldn’t go inside without signing up. But that feel of trying to checking out the app was so good…
Curiosity 
I think we will need to get together to do something about how Ather is handling the software side of things, and putting everything behind a pay wall.
If a company truly cares about its early adopters, it should do something. Agreed, it might have been a surprise move, agreed it might take time, but Ather should do something REALLY drastic if it does not want trouble on its hands.
I have been deeply disappointed with their point updates on the software. I decided not to pay since it did not make sense for me to have such software features behind a paywall, especially after having paid such a premium.
What do you guys think?
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Really drastic action rquire an equally drastic amount of money, which I don’t believe @ather has a lot of at this point.
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Pricing in Maharashtra is going to to be Rs. 75000 for Ola S1 once Maharashtra government sorts it’s subsidy implementation issues out…much cheaper than an Activa 6G. Add Rs.5000 for insurance. On road comes out Rs.80000 only. Will wipe out every other scooter in Maha not just Ather. Right now Ola website is only showing old Rs. 5000 subsidy since they might not have got a clear answer from Maha government on implementation of new EV policy.
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With that package, and at that price, TVS, Honda and others must be %#%$ in pants
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What is the battery warranty for ola scooter?
To be eligible for FAMEII subsidy, a vehicle must have at least 3years of warranty for bothe vehicle and battery. So, even though Ola haven’t announced anything, a minimum of 3 years warranty will be given.
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Suchetha Dalal sums it up perfectly.
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Dude! This vasooli sarkar is biggest feku, call Ather showroom in Maharashtra and ask them about Maharashtra State subsidy status, you’ll get to know there are so many people who have made payment for 450 n 450x in the hope to avail this discount. Those who made payment of 1.3l are stuck with no subsidy no vehicle and they have been asked to pay 1.55l and take the vehicle without Maharashtra subsidy ammount.
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**Why is Ola so hurry in establishing such a huge plant from the get-go instead of a gradual increase in capacity? Is Ola really selling S1 and S1 Pro at a loss to garner market share? **
Many seem to assume that batteries are very costly and hence electric vehicles will be much costlier than their ICE (petrol/diesel) counterparts. But the fact is battery prices are declining rapidly each year and the technology improving at a good pace resulting in much better economics overall each year. The below chart shows how the battery prices (cell and pack level) are declining each year.
Since 2010, battery prices are down by a whopping 89% (from $1,100 per kWh in 2010 to $137/kWh in 2020). While these prices are averages across different segments of vehicles (buses, cars, 2 wheelers, etc…), it still shows how much the prices decline each year with the increase in volumes and technology improvements. For the low density (relatively) cell chemistries like LFP, the prices are lower than high-density chemistries like NCA and NMC. Also, the above prices show the industry average and the high volume (few GWh) customers will get much better prices than low volume customers.
So, here are some capacity requirements for current sales of some of the Indian EVs:
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Nexon EV (30.2 kWh): Based on Q1 FY22, the yearly volume will be ~7,000. So, the total battery requirement will be 0.21 GWh (7000 x 30200). Even if the sales increase to 12,000 per annum in FY23, it will be 0.36 GWh.
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Ather 450x (2.9 kWh): In 2019 and 2020. Sales were ~3,000 units per year. Sales grew much better this year with the launch in more cities and especially in July with the increase in subsidy. As per the Vahan dashboard, July sales are 1800 and August (till today) are 1030. Assuming 2,000 per month and 25,000 per year, the battery requirement will be 0.072 GWh (25000 x 2900).
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Ola S1 (2.98 kWh): Ola planned capacity is 10 million. Even if we assume they are able to hit a production rate of 0.5 million per annum (just 5% of the final capacity of 10 million) in FY23 (April 2022 to March 2023), the battery requirement will be ~1.5 GWh (500000 x 2980). That is more than 4 times the Nexon EV requirement and ~20 times of Ather battery requirements.
With higher volumes, batteries will be offered at much lower prices than low volumes. From what I read, the Etergo appscooter was using LFP batteries. I am not sure if still, that’s the case with Ola. LFP batteries are lower in cell density but are safer, have much higher charging cycles and cost ~20% lower than NCM cells. Nexon EV also uses the same chemistry. Tesla also started using the LFP cells for their base variants of Model 3 and Model Y, being sold in Europe and China.
The actual price of the vehicle is not Rs 1 lakh. It’s Rs 1.45 lakh as the central govt is providing Rs 15,000 per kWh subsidy. So, the central govt itself giving $200 per kWh subsidy which is way higher than the average price ($137) of EV batteries in 2020. Even if we assume the price of $250 per kWh, the battery cost will be Rs 56,250. In addition, ICE scooters have a disadvantage of 28% GST while EVs have only 5% GST. Ola scooter will have the additional cost of a better vehicle computer (touchscreen, better processor, RAM, 4G, etc…) and employee costs for developing smart features. These are fixed costs that will increase the break-even point. If Ola is going for a few thousand vehicles per month, they will always struggle to turn a profit. With higher volumes, the average price of each component will be less and software costs and other fixed costs will be shared across lakhs of vehicles instead of a few thousand.
Another interesting tidbit is, FAME II scheme is limited to 1 million 2 wheelers in total but extended by 2 years till March 2024. Till June 2021 only 60,000 2-wheelers are sold under FAME II. With higher prices and limited availability of 450x, Chetak and iQube and lower appeal of scooters from the likes of Hero electric, Ampere, Okinawa, Ola might have sensed an opportunity to gobble up most of the subsidy in the next 2.5 years. It could have been difficult for startups to set up such a huge capacity due to limited funds. Traditional automakers like Bajaj, TVS, Hero Motocorp are still trying to hold on to their petrol scooter sales. Ola is able to attract way more funds due to their previous track record of Ola cabs and it really helps to bring down costs with economies of scale.
As an EV enthusiast, I really hope Ola succeeds with S1 and S1 pro and brings revolution to the Indian EV market. Whether they are successful or not, we should applaud, the efforts of the central govt (subsidy and tax cuts) and many state govts (road tax waivers and extra subsidies).
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Robots at work in Ola Electric’s factory. These robots are from ABB. Earlier this year, Ola selected ABB for robotics and automation solutions.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1429094767149735949
Excerpt from the press release at the start of the year:
Ola will utilize ABB’s automation solutions in its factory’s key manufacturing process lines, including its painting and welding lines, while the ABB robots will be deployed extensively for the battery and motor assembly lines. These include ABB’s IRB 5500 paint and IRB 2600 Integrated Dressing robots in its painting and welding lines, and IRB 6700 robots for assembly and material handling in the battery and motor assembly areas.
The mega-factory is also expected to be the country’s most automated, with about 5,000 robots and automated guided vehicles in use once the factory is fully operational to its full capacity.
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Ather simply looted us in the name of new technology, next future… etc.
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Funny part is they were saying even selling at this price point they are selling the scooter at a loss. 
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They are still not making any profit I think. Even Ola will be selling at a loss. Ola have got enough funding and scale to sustain these low prices, but not sure for how long. I feel, they will eventually have to increase prices.
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Got this notification from Ola
BEST SCOOTER, HOME DELIVERED
PURCHASING THE OLA S1
The purchase window for the Ola S1 opens on 8th September for anyone with a reservation. The entire process is seamlessly digital and can be done from home. No visiting showrooms, no running around, nothing. Purchasing early gets you priority delivery . Also, the window stays open only until stocks last.
Purchase can be made only on the Ola and the Ola Electric apps . Ola Electric app will go live on iOS and Android from 8th September.
This is what a seamless digital purchasing process looks like!
Picking a Variant You Want & a Colour You Love
You get to pick between 2 variants – the Ola S1 and the Ola S1 Pro and choose from 10 vibrant colors and 2 finishes. You can even change your mind about both the variant and the color if you want to.
Paying for The Ola S1
We have a variety of convenient, best-in-class financing options for you to choose from, powered by Ola Financial Services (OFS). You can even opt to pay an advance to purchase your Ola S1.
If you need financing, OFS (Ola Financial Services) has tied up with leading banks including IDFC First Bank, HDFC, and TATA Capital to help finance your Ola S1. EMIs start at INR 2999 (for Ola S1) and INR 3199 (for Ola S1 Pro).
HDFC Bank will provide pre-approved loans to eligible customers in minutes on the Ola and Ola Electric apps. TATA Capital and IDFC First Bank will process digital KYC and provide instant loan approvals to eligible customers.
Keep your Aadhaar card, Pan Card & Proof of address handy to keep the process seamless.
In case you don’t need financing you can simply pay an advance of INR 20000 for Ola S1 or INR 25000 for Ola S1 Pro, and the rest when we invoice your scooter to you.
Both your down-payment and advance are completely refundable if you wish to cancel your booking. Cancellation is allowed only till the scooter is shipped from the Ola FutureFactory.
Insuring Your Ola S1
You can even insure your Ola S1 on the Ola and Ola Electric Apps. Our insurance partner, ICICI Lombard currently offers comprehensive vehicle insurance policies. A base policy of ‘1-year Own Damage and 5 years Third Party’ is mandatory for registration. You can also choose from other add-ons such as Personal Accident Cover, Zero Depreciation, and Roadside Assistance.
Test Ride
Test rides will commence from October 2021 onwards. Cancellation is allowed post test rides till your scooter is shipped from the Ola FutureFactory.
Delivery of Your Ola S1
We start deliveries in October 2021 onwards, and your scooter will be delivered directly to your home. All you have to do is pay the remaining amount (few days before shipment) if non-financed or complete the loan agreement if financed before your scooter is shipped to you. In case you miss the payment date, the scooter allocated to you will be reallocated to someone else. You can come back later to complete the purchase and we will provide you with a new delivery date.
We are starting the purchase in batches and prioritizing users based on their dates of reservation. We will notify you of the tentative delivery date once the purchase opens for you starting 8th September.
Servicing Your Ola S1
The Ola S1 is an AI-driven smart vehicle that frees you from the traditional scheduled maintenance every 3 or 6 months with predictive maintenance. Your scooter will tell you when something needs replacing or servicing. and a doorstep service can be booked on the Ola Electric App.
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT & STATE SUBSIDIES FOR THE OLA S1
FAME II Subsidy
Short for Faster Manufacturing & Adoption of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II, it is a benefit you get for buying the Ola S1 – as an upfront reduced price.
Eligibility
To claim the subsidy, you will need to have a valid Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Passport or a Driver’s License. You are eligible to avail the FAME-II subsidy only once per category of electric vehicle (2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, 4-wheelers).
Criteria
If you’ve already claimed the subsidy for an electric 2-wheeler, you will be ineligible for claiming the subsidy a second time. Verify your invoice for the electric 2-wheeler you already own – your invoice will mention if you’ve claimed the subsidy or not.
State Subsidies for The Ola S1
Various States of India offer subsidies over and above the FAME II subsidy, and these vary from State to State. You will have to check the subsidy offered in the State you buy your Ola S1 in and claim it post-purchase.
State subsidies are currently offered in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Orissa (basis information available on the respective State Government website as of date).
The prices (in INR) mentioned above are ex-showroom and include GST, FAME II, and State subsidies. The above prices include optional chargers and/or performance upgrade accessories which can also be purchased separately.
For further details, mail us at support@olaelectric.com. The above processes are subjected to change. Terms and conditions apply.
*In case of no-financing requirements. If you choose to finance, EMIs to start post-delivery.
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was this an email to you?
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