As Ola Electric faces the daunting task of meeting the demand for its electric scooters, the company has opted to prioritise deliveries of its more expensive variant, the S1 Pro.
Customers who ordered the S1 variant received an email on Friday informing them that Ola Electric would not be manufacturing the scooter until late 2022: Offering them a choice to upgrade to the S1 Pro, wait for the S1, or get a refund.
Ola says most of its customers opted for the costlier S1 Pro variant.
In Delhi, the S1 retails from Rs 85,999 while the S1 Pro starts at Rs 1,22,099.
The S1 Pro has many advantages over the S1 including larger battery output (3.97 kWh vs 2.98 kWh), more range (181km vs 121km) and a higher top speed (115kph vs 90). The S1 Pro also comes with an extra riding mode, Hyper, while the standard variant just has normal and sport. The Pro also comes with cruise control, voice assistance, hill hold and more colour options.
However, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal tweeted a bonus: All S1 customers will be upgraded to S1 Pro hardware, which will include S1 features like Pro range, hyper mode and others with a “performance upgrade”. “Dispatch in Jan, Feb. email to follow with details” he tweeted.
In another tweet, Ola Electric said S1 owners could unlock Pro range, Hyper mode and other features for Rs 30,000, with the final payment window opening on January 21.
With the setting up of the Futeufactory, Ola Electric aimed at creating the world’s largest women-only factory with a planned annual capacity of over 10 million. However, teething troubles have restricted production to just 1,000 units a day.
