Ola opens bookings for electric scooter at Rs 499

Ola has opened reservations for its much awaited electric scooter at Rs 499. According to the company, the amount is fully refundable and it will not ask any questions to initiate the refund process.

Hyderabad: In a major boost for the electric vehicle industry in the country, Ola has opened reservations for its much awaited electric scooter at Rs 499. Customers who are interested in the two-wheeler can reserve the vehicle on its website olaelectric.com. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the company said: “It’s day 1 of the revolution, the day we’ve all been eagerly waiting for! The Ola Electric Scooter can now be reserved at just Rs. 499. So #ReserveNow to #JoinTheRevolution at http://olaelectric.com and be first in line to the future of mobility!”

According to the company, the amount is fully refundable and the company will not ask any questions to initiate the refund process. On the specifications of the scooter, the company said the vehicle has largest-in-class boot space, superior range and many first-in-class features. The Ola Scooter will be competitively priced, and the final pricing will be announced soon, the company said on its website.

The vehicle can be charged at home or workplace by using a home-charger in any 5A socket. Besides, the company is building the world’s largest two-wheeler charging network with one lakh charging points across 400 Indian cities. The announcement comes days after Ola Electric signed a USD 100 million (about Rs 744.5 crore) 10 year-term debt financing agreement with Bank of Baroda.

The 10-year debt of USD 100 million is towards the funding and financial closure of phase I of Ola Futurefactory, the firm said in a statement on Monday. Ola has already announced that it will invest Rs 2,400 crore for setting up phase I of the factory. The Ola Futurefactory is coming up on a 500-acre site in in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. At full capacity of 1 crore vehicles annually, it will be the world's largest two-wheeler factory.

Recently, Ola Chairman and Group CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had shared a video of him astride an Ola electric scooter for a ride in Bengaluru. The top executive had said that the e-scooter was likely to be launched in India in July this year and that Ola Electric would look at taking the vehicle to international markets, including countries like France, Italy and Germany, this fiscal as well.

Last year, Ola Electric had also acquired Amsterdam-based Etergo BV for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition of Etergo was aimed at further bolstering its engineering and design capabilities in the electric mobility space. When launched, the Ola electric scooter will go up against Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto and others.

(With Agency Inputs)