Ola Electric Likely Working on Compact Electric Car, Design Patent Shows

Ola Electric shelved its ambitious plans to get into the car market in 2024, but it appears that the company is now on a new course with a revised plan. A fresh intellectual property filing shows that the company has registered a design for a compact electric car, matching the concept design shown off at its Sankalp event in August this year.

The purported compact electric car would be based on Ola’s Gen 4 platform, which is designed to scale across vehicles with two, three, and four wheels. Currently in development, Ola has teased “infinite possibilities” including an auto rickshaw, light commercial goods carriers, and the same small car. 

Documents registered on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s publicly accessible Intellectual Property India website show the new small car recently joining previously filed designs for multiple motorbike design styles as well as the aforementioned rickshaw, plus open-bed and enclosed light commercial vehicles.

The Gen 4 platform will leverage Ola’s recently approved 4680 “Bharat cell” batteries. The company has already said that this platform will allow for vehicles that are lighter, more energy-efficient, and more affordable. An updated Ola S1 scooter range with a 16kW motor could be announced in early 2026, as the first Gen 4 vehicles to go into production.

If Ola’s concept electric car goes into production, it would potentially be targeted at urban commuters and small families, or potentially for use within enclosed areas such as private campuses where golf carts are currently popular. The designs show a squared-off compact hatchback, not unlike Japanese Kei cars, with very little overhang beyond the wheelbase.

Interestingly, the design does appear to show four doors and two rows of seats. Other discernible details include a single bar-shaped headlight unit across the front and wrapping around the sides. The filing does not contain any specifications or measurements. It is possible that the car would support Ola's "Flux Charger" wireless charging technology. 

Such a vehicle would be in stark contrast to the company’s earlier plan to bring a high-performance electric sedan to market by 2024, which founder Bhavish Aggarwal himself had confirmed was in development, before pivoting to focus on bikes. With the right pricing, it could compete with the MG Comet or carve out an audience like the Tata Nano was once intended to.

Earlier this week, Ola Electric announced its first ever profitable quarter and just two months ago, it produced its millionth vehicle. In-house battery cell production and packaging could give Ola Electric an advantage, even as it struggles with various legal and regulatory issues, ongoing customer dissatisfaction, and recent declines in market share and revenue.