Ola Electric Suspends Its Car Plans: Report

Ola Electric has suspended its plans to launch its first car, people privy to the information told Reuters. The decision to delay its all-electric car model has been taken as Ola Electric wants to focus on its two-wheeler business. Acko Drive has reached out to Ola Electric for a comment and the story will be updated once we receive a response. 

The electric car business was announced by Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal in 2022. It was supposed to be launched in 2024. The unnamed electric car was expected to have a drag coefficient of 0.21 Cd and a claimed range of more than 500 km on a full charge. Ola Electric further claimed a 0-100 kmph time of under 4 seconds. 

A source told the newswire that the Indian brand’s “focus is all on the two-wheeler market, including bikes, and mass electrification is still some time away - you need to have (charging) infrastructure.” 

The source also said that when Ola Electric resumes its plans for the electric car, it will focus on a mass-market and affordable model. However, Aggarwal originally intended to launch a premium sports car. Furthermore, Aggarwal also claimed to set up a new facility at its Tamil Nadu facility to build 10 lakh electric cars per annum. 

Ola Electric had hired 100 employees for the project, as well as roped in external consultants, another source told Reuters. However, 30 per cent of the workforce has left the organisation and roles of some have been reassigned or given new projects. 

Reportedly, Ola Electric was in talks with a few auto component manufacturers and has already built a prototype of the electric vehicle (EV) at its design studio in the UK. The prototype borrows the design from an unnamed BMW sedan. 

Ola Electric is likely to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next month with an estimated $740 million (approx ₹6,200 crore) raised in the process. However, Ola Electric is still a loss-making enterprise but has gained a 46 per cent share in the electric scooter segment in the last three years.

Source: Reuters