[bravo82in]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I respect the choice of others to go the Ola way, but I cannot recommend it in good faith.

Thank you so much for the honest review. Those were the exact thoughts that came to my mine reading the hype around the Ola, an uncharted territory for the company. Thanks to our media house who will never ever bring this side of story to notice. Once again, that’s why Team-bhp is India’s most trusted automobile review forum

[amey027]

Originally Posted by Sebring

You forget that Ather incurred heavy R&D expenditure over years. With Ola it is either royalty based on units they sell/technology buy out. That gives them pricing power over competition.

I work in the EV industry. Like I mentioned, Ather is earning unit profits, that means they are earning money on the cost price of the scooter. They aren't earning enough to fill the R&D costs incurred. And being in the EV industry, I am aware how expensive these batteries are. Ather's battery alone costs approx 70k INR, Ola's must be 30% over that since it's bigger. Everyone in the industry knows they are selling at a significant loss, like all the startups nowadays do. There's a reason why the big OEMs aren't really afraid of Ola, Ather's their only major competition.

Originally Posted by Electromotive

Forgive my ignorance, but can you clarify exactly what you mean?

EVs do not have a clutch, the motor is directly connected to the wheel via belt or gears. So any torque applied by the motor is always getting to the wheel. Simulating ICE like behavior should be a matter of controlling (via PWM) the torque the motor is generating. Ather also follows the same design -- motor is connected to the wheel via belt. So, they are simulating ICE behavior in software.

My question therefore is - why can't OLA replicate the same? It is functionality completely implemented in software is it not? Or is there an assumption that the motor controller firmware cannot be updated? OLA is probably using a controller supplied by ST or Bosch and all those can be configured and controlled via software.

That's a bold statement.

Not really, this is a firmware update they would need to push on the Motor-controller. I haven't yet come across controllers that accept OTA updates, but I could be wrong.

As for the torque lag issue, yes Ola could reduce the lag a bit. But in ICEs, the engine is powered even if we apply slight brakes like we do when starting on an incline. Ather basically doesn't cut-off the motor and motor torque is mapped to the brake input. So depending on how much brakes you have applied, the controller controls the motor's torque output. This is something no other electric scooter offers. I am not sure if Ola can fix this before the launch.

[Sebring]

You sure know to write brother, and summed it up beautifully. I just purchased a petrol maxi-scooter for 'Electric Scooter money', and everyone in my housing society thought I was daft. They were heralding the arrival of 'electric age', (at least in scooters). But I had my reservations. Ola's shortcomings could have a bearing on the entire 'two wheeler revolution', including those who worked really hard on the product; Ather. It's still early days, and the tide could turn in any direction. Let's see

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I will play it safe and stick to a traditional scooter. I respect the choice of others to go the Ola way, but I cannot recommend it in good faith.

[Blackbolt]

When u launch a product at scale there are many aspects which have to fall in place. The Ola team hasn’t thought through them. It all seems rushed !
Ola sends an email yesterday saying please reserve a slot for your test drive by calling in; we are in your city. I have been on call waiting for over 40 mins now.

Your entire buying experience was online, why can’t I reserve the slot via the app! For a person who has paid the entire amount the queue is same as the others!

They need to get the act together, not everyone has the patience to deal with such major lapses. When u say we are ready for something; make sure your support system is also ready. You cannot ask someone to call in and make them wait endlessly. This is not a tick mark corporate activity with no follow up or real execution!

Update: Got through the call center at 43th minute. Suboptimal customer center staff , confirmed my test ride in Mumbai Raheja Platinum for 4 pm. I receive an email confirmation for test ride in Bangalore ! Painful to say the least. Have written to support@olaelectric.com.

They need to get the act together and fast. I’m losing my patience and I’m sure many are in that list.

[pradeep_mvpa]

OLA Electric's QA head resigned.

https://www.outlookindia.com/website...ervices/401181

https://english.lokmat.com/business/...abruptly-a473/

[fuzzydealhunter]

Was actually annoyed then I got a message to call and book my test drive. This could have been set up via the app, letting people set up their own test drives. Looks like they are regressing instead of staying at the cutting edge.

Looks like the test drives in Kochi are at Center Square mall.

Will update about my experience after the test drive!

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by pradeep_mvpa

OLA Electric's QA head resigned.

Ah yes, typical case of Agile product life cycle where development team delivers on the day before delivery date and the QA guys get the blame
Seems OLA just hurried this launch to stay relevant in the market and the issues are not ironed out. I really want Ola to succeed here, fingers crossed !

[Electromotive]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Seems OLA just hurried this launch to stay relevant in the market and the issues are not ironed out. I really want Ola to succeed here, fingers crossed !

Yup, seems like the investors want to cash out during the IPO euphoria and have been pressuring the management to rush the product launch to generate hype.

Seriously, the attrition at the management levels seems too high. Not sure if it is the quality of talent or the work pressure or both.
There is no precedent of a product startup in India operating at this scale so it is safe to assume the management is struggling.

I don't think OLA will fail, may be stumble a bit. Too much money invested here to fail.
Ultimately, the product seems good and has been designed by the experienced team at Etergo, so there is hope. And the factory is coming online at good pace.
Maybe OLA should hire some experienced consultants from Silicon Valley to teach them the ropes.

[TusharK]

Ola S1 Pro could be offered with custom paint finishes

Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola Electric, has stated that the company is looking at providing custom paint finishes for the S1 Pro e-scooter.



The Ola S1 and S1 Pro e-scooters were launched earlier this year. Recently, the company has announced that nine S1 Pro e-scooters will be delivered to the Netherlands Embassy in India. These models will be painted in a unique colour called 'Dutch Oranje'. Ola Electric is also planning to offer custom paint finishes for customers looking to personalize their S1 Pro e-scooters.

The EV-maker has also confirmed that customer deliveries of the S1 and S1 Pro will commence in the coming weeks. Having said that, the company hasn't provided a specific date.

The Ola S1 Pro comes with a 3.97 kWh battery pack that can be recharged to 100% in 6 hours 30 minutes using a conventional charging port. It can sprint from 0-60 km/h in 5 seconds and has a top speed of 115 km/h.

[Jhinchak]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Ola S1 Pro could be offered with custom paint finishes

It feels like the CEO wants to keep OLA in the news for one reason or the other. Good marketing but feels like he is over-doing it. Perhaps he should slow down a bit until the actual deliveries start. Promising too many goodies and if he doesn't deliver on those promises, its going to be a problem.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

More information on the test ride schedules, as per press release received -

• Ola kicked off test rides in Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata on the 10th of November and then opened up 5 more cities - Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune on 19th November.
• Customer test rides will be rolling out in the next set of cities starting 27 November 2021 onwards, in cities including Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Bhubaneswar, Tiruppur, Jaipur and Nagpur.
• It will now rapidly add more locations to ensure all customers have access to test rides by December 15th.

Full release below:

OLA ROLL OUT PAN INDIA TEST RIDES. INDIA’S LARGEST EV TEST RIDE INITIATIVE

Test rides to be available across 1000+ cities and towns pan India Bangalore,

November 20, 2021: Ola Electric, India’s leading manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, today announced expansion of its customer test rides pan India in the largest ever initiative of this kind.

Customers in over 1000 cities and towns will be able to test ride and experience the revolutionary Ola S1 electric scooter. The test rides will be initially open only for those who have purchased or reserved the Ola S1 and S1 Pro scooters.

Ola kicked off test rides in Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata on the 10th of November and then opened up 5 more cities - Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune on 19th November. It will now rapidly add more locations to ensure all customers have access to test rides by December 15th.

“Customer response to our test rides has been phenomenally positive and we are really thrilled to see their excitement for the revolutionary Ola S1 scooter. Thousands of customers are taking test rides every day and absolutely loving the best in class design, performance, technology and ride quality the Ola S1 delivers. We are scaling test rides up rapidly in the coming weeks and will be covering over 1000 cities and towns across India to ensure every customer has access to test rides by mid December. This is the fastest national scale up of test rides ever and a revolution in automotive retail made possible by our direct to consumer model.” said Arun Sirdeshmukh, Chief Business Officer at Ola Electric.

Customer test rides will be rolling out in the next set of cities starting 27 November 2021 onwards, in cities including Surat, Thiruvananthapura, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Bhubaneswar, Tiruppur, Jaipur and Nagpur.

The Ola S1 range of scooters comes in 10 stunning colors, a fluid design, a massive 36L boot space that fits 2 helmets, incredible performance of 0-40 Kmph in just 3 seconds, top speed of 115 Kmph and a class leading range of 181 Kilometers for the S1 Pro. With mono shock, front and rear disc brakes and the widest tyres in the category, they also provide fantastic ride quality.

The scooters are being manufactured in India at the Ola Futurefactory, the largest, most advanced, and greenest two wheeler factory in the world. This will be Ola’s global manufacturing hub and Ola aims to launch these scooters in international markets such as Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, and others next year.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Ola S1 Pro could be offered with custom paint finishes

Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola Electric, has stated that the company is looking at providing custom paint finishes for the S1 Pro e-scooter.

Media, enthusiasts and potential customers : The Ola S1 looks to be unfinished, dont buy now.
Ola Electric :

Not a single person : The Ola S1 Pro needs more colours.
Ola Electric : We are working hard on it !

[Mafia]

So far Ola has been a disappointing ride.

Hope they get their act together for S2 pro . All the hype has turned into serious negative publicity.

Did anyone on teamBHP take a dive and bought the scooter?

By the looks of it, we are a good 12 months from a bug-free S1. In the meantime. I will have a test ride before canceling the booking, maybe.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

[*]Ola kicked off test rides in Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata on the 10th of November and then opened up 5 more cities - Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune on 19th November.

When and where are these test rides happening in Chennai? I have not received any communication from Ola.

[Venkatesh]

Ola pushes delivery window for the first lot of customers by 3-5 weeks.

Ola has extended the delivery window of the first lot of scooters from Nov 25 to Dec 15-31 blaming the shortage of chipsets and other electronic components including lithium ion cells for the delay. The schedule of the second purchase window could also be revised.



Source