Ola is set to challenge India’s electric car market leaders.
Having forayed into the country’s electric vehicle (EV) industry last year with its two-wheeler, the Softbank-backed company yesterday (Aug. 15) announced its plans to launch a four-wheeler by 2024.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola Electric, said his decade-old company’s EV will go from zero to 100 kilometres per hour (just over 62 mph) in a mere four seconds. With a range of over 500 kilometres per charge, it will have an all-glass roof and will be equipped with assisted driving capability.
“The EV would also be keyless and handle-less,” Aggarwal’s presentation said.
The founder shared his vision for the country’s EV industry along with a roadmap to develop a “full EV club.” Ola plans to expand its “Futurefactory” in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a key auto and EV hub, he said.
Ola, at its full capacity, will be able to produce a million cars, 10 million two-wheelers, and 100-gigawatt hours of cells each year, its CEO claimed.
Ola’s electric car will directly compete with, among others, those of the Tatas and Mahindra’s.
India’s nascent EV industry contributes merely 1% to its car sales, but interest in the segment, despite safety concerns, is growing.
In 2022, sales are likely to touch a million units, equivalent to the past 15 years’ cumulative, auto body Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, indicates.
Prime minister Narendra Modi government wants 70% of all commercial cars, 30% of private ones, 40% of buses, and 80% of 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers sold in India to be electric by 2030.
