[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Blackbolt

I have a query guys, what if OLA misses out on its promised delivery by 31st December in Maharashtra for our bike! ( Definitely a probable event) Will we still get the flame 2 subsidy which was deducted while making the final payment ? If not this is a massive 29k affair I don’t want to get into.

Do not mistake FAMEII subsidy with State Subsidies. FAMEII is a central Government subsidy. You'll not lose out on that.

Some state governments have given additional subsidies over and above the FAMEII subsidy.

MH subsidy has two parts to it. One is ₹5,000 per kwh capped at a maximum of ₹10,000 per two wheeler. And the second part is the early bird discount of another ₹5,000 per kwh capped at a maximum of ₹1,00,000 per vehicle which is applicable only for vehicles invoiced on or before Dec 31st 2021. Unless MH extends this deadline, you'll lose out on this early bird part of the subsidy which is around ₹19k and not ₹29k.

However I do agree that ₹19,000 is still a big amount. MH may extend this early bird incentive if the budgeted amount is not fully consumed (which in all probability is not).

[sri_tesla]

Ola Electric has received 1 million reservations for its electric scooter.

Source:
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...er-2021-12-02/


In other news, here are ICE 2 wheeler sales in November. All are down by massive percentages YoY:
Hero Motocorp: -43%
Honda: -35%
Bajaj Auto: -23%
TVS: -29%

[avishar]

Twitter is filed with buyers who have cancelled but have not recieved their refunds even after a month. They have built a giant shed, but how many lines are actually under operation? I think it's just one solitary line which is CKD assembling to glory.

Bhavish was always a shifty fellow but Ola looked like they could disrupt the market. But right now this entire operation doesn't pass the smell test, and I won't be surprised if they delay deliveries again. They won't be building more than a few thousand initially with the first lot of the customers getting what is essentially the production test batch. Terrible customer support, understaffed, no dealerships, no service centers. It is going to be nightmare once these things are out on roads in sizeable numbers.

I had supported Ola, but atleast here in T-BHP I hope you guys are not thinking of buying this rush-job right now. If it has to be a premium EV scooter, Ather is a much better choice. Or, wait for Hero-Gogoro who I think is going to be the actual hero of the 2W EV story in India.

[i_rock098]

Originally Posted by avishar

I had supported Ola, but atleast here in T-BHP I hope you guys are not thinking of buying this rush-job right now. If it has to be a premium EV scooter, Ather is a much better choice. Or, wait for Hero-Gogoro who I think is going to be the actual hero of the 2W EV story in India.

They are following the Xiaomi model of selling. Advertise unsustainable prices, show insane booking numbers/sales numbers, sell only a few units at that crazy price, slowly increase the price to a sustainable level and then increase the number of units manufactured. No way can Ola deliver without this tactic at their current price.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by avishar

If it has to be a premium EV scooter, Ather is a much better choice. Or, wait for Hero-Gogoro who I think is going to be the actual hero of the 2W EV story in India.

How is Ather a better choice when it costs Rs ~50K more than Ola S1? Ather has its own problems with service, customer support, spare parts availability. Even simple software features like ride statistics, syncing, navigation won't work most of the time. Its seat is not comfortable and motor noise is very high. People are willing to purchase despite all this and sales continue to grow at a fast pace for Ather. So, it's not a surprise that Ola has so many preorders. Also, Ola is promising home delivery anywhere in the country and it's one of the main reasons for so much higher preorders in addition to the price.

I agree that there will definitely be problems with service, spares, etc.. for Ola as well. It will be the same with established companies like Bajaj and Hero. Bajaj Chetak customers are also facing spare parts issues. Delivery delays are happening to each and every company, whether it is Ather, Bajaj, or Ola. The demand for EVs is so high and the production is just getting started.

Hero Motocorp can be successful if they go aggressively with their own EVs. Right now they seem to be less interested in their own EVs and want to put eggs in all baskets. They invested in Ather, partnering with Gogoro and building their own EVs. Gogoro looks nice on paper but it's very difficult to scale. They charge insane prices for swapping subscriptions in Taiwan. Even for just 10km a day (315 km per month) they charge Rs 1350 for swapping subscriptions. For 630 km it will be Rs 2161. Swapping infra is very costly compared to charger infrastructure. They need to recoup those with higher subscription costs. Even Bounce which announced their scooter today asking for Rs 850 per month fixed and Rs 35 per swap. What is the point of going electric if it costs same or more than petrol counterparts?

[Electromotive]

Originally Posted by avishar

Bhavish was always a shifty fellow

Do you know him personally? Or is that another unsubstantiated claim? How do you know the test drive models are CKD imports?

As for refunds, there is a button on the account section that needs to be clicked for refunds to be credited to bank account. Someone mentioned that in this very thread. Not ideal but not a scam either.

OLA Electric is very young and the management might be inexperienced but the product is quite good, at least for a first iteration. Electronics and battery might be imported (that's true for TaMo as well, the star child of the Indian EV scene) but OLA are making the chassis, panels and mechanicals themselves or sourcing from OEM suppliers. Check the linked video:

this video.

[rahulk2510]

Originally Posted by Electromotive

Do you know him personally? Or is that another unsubstantiated claim? How do you know the test drive models are CKD imports?

As for refunds, there is a button on the account section that needs to be clicked for refunds to be credited to bank account. Someone mentioned that in this very thread. Not ideal but not a scam either.

OLA Electric is very young and the management might be inexperienced but the product is quite good, at least for a first iteration. Electronics and battery might be imported (that's true for TaMo as well, the star child of the Indian EV scene) but OLA are making the chassis, panels and mechanicals themselves or sourcing from OEM suppliers. Check the linked video: this video.

Thanks for the above post.

We are too exuberant & feel proud on Indians becoming CEOs abroad but sort of despise them, question them, demotivate them here in India. No wonder brain drain is a reality. However, it is pertinent to think that almost all businesses to have questionable business practices, but should look at the larger picture.

Sorry for the OT, Mods may remove the above post if its against rules.

Thanks,

[avishar]

Originally Posted by Electromotive

OLA Electric is very young and the management might be inexperienced but the product is quite good, at least for a first iteration. this video.

Their management isn't inexperienced, it's just that they can see where the company is heading.




But then, Ola and their management always had a knack of being able to sell their "next big story"




Right now Ola Electric is closer to being the next Lordstown Motors than being the next Rivian.

[Electromotive]

Originally Posted by avishar

Their management isn't inexperienced, it's just that they can see where the company is heading.

No, a high rate of attrition is par for the high pressure jobs at startups. Most people in India expect sarkari jobs where they can comfortably float around without doing much. Working for startups is a entirely different ball game. Not only do you have to think on your feet, you also have to juggle multiple hats. Most employees aren't cut out for that. Hence the high attrition.

Here are reports of high attrition at Tesla:

Annualized turnover among all Tesla executives, including those who do not report to Musk, was 27%, compared to an average of 15% for the other companies AllianceBernstein analyzed. The firm also noted that Tesla has lost external hires and executives in particularly important roles, like chief accounting officer, general counsel, and head of global security, at abnormally high rates.

Source Source 2

When you are setting out to change the world like Tesla did and OLA electric is trying to do in India, you end up hiring people who might not measure up, but that's par for the course.

[rbp]

An article at Autocarindia

https://www.autocarindia.com/bike-ne...r-ready-422833

[udaikalra01]

No more delays, deliveries starting from 15th December.
Were earlier supposed to start from mid November. A month of delay, obviously those who booked will be pissed but that was actually predictable, especially for a start-up. The earlier timelines were very over-optimistic. Hope the product delivered is well finished

[Jhinchak]

Originally Posted by udaikalra01

No more delays, deliveries starting from 15th December.

The "home delivery" process will also be interesting to look forward to. Its something no major manufacturer has attempted.

[hemanth.anand]

After having booked the scooter and having made the full payment on November 13th, I was told that the scooter will be delivered between November 15th to November 30th. Now S1 was not perfect but not bad as Okinawas and other chinese brands. But three things that were still bugging me:

1. Overheating issue: A major issue pointed out in S1 pro reviews after riding in Hyper mode. I had ignored this issue as ours would be a S1 and there is no hyper mode.

2. The dead acceleration on braking: It was something that I didn't like but had ignored this as my father is a very slow rider and he can manage / get used to this. I also had hopes that Ola might correct it in a future OTA update.

3. The absence of a flat floorboard: This is one major complaint that my father has of his Vespa now. He always tells me that I got him a bad vehicle after selling his activa. I had ignored this issue during my test ride because the Ola's under-seat storage space is huge!

I was certain that the Ola scooter delivery will be postponed and as per the expectations I got an email on November 20th that the delivery schedule is pushed ahead by a month. This additional time allowed my father to take a look at the scooter (he hadn't accompanied me earlier). Straight away he told me that he doesn't want this scooter solely for the floorboard not being flat. I told him that the under seat storage was huge and he has enough space to put all the things he puts and moreover I told that he is used to Vespa now.

He said that when we are changing the Vespa any which way, he wants a flat floorboard scooter. His argument is that how much ever the under-seat storage is, the convenience of a flat floorboard is a different thing as he can't keep on opening the seat every time he buys some small things. I concurred with him as 1, his point was correct and 2, I didn't want to hear the same "you got me a bad scooter" complaint going forward too

On 21st November, I tried to cancel my order and on the app or website I couldn't find any option to do so. I called their helpline and requested them to cancel. They told me to write an email for cancellation which I did. The email reply I received said that I have to cancel on the app!! Again I called the helpline number...for 4 days this loop happened 3 times and finally on 25th November, the support person told me that the software was designed to cancel the order only till the first two payments were made. since I had made the third and final payment also the cancel button was not appearing for me. Finally she told that the backend team have worked on this and the cancel button will appear by the end of the day. It did appear and I confirmed the cancellation there. 6 days later, on 1st December I got a refund transaction reference number. It took another 5 days and today I got the full amount on ₹110k back in my account.

Now the hunt for my father's next scooter is back to square one. In ICE vehicles, Activa is his preference. Although I don't want that, I'll not get to hear any complaints. Jupiter would be my pick in ICE scooters. However the petrol prices is making him think of an EV. His daily running is 30kms and he feels the pinch every time he visits a fuel station.

Following are some of the OTR scooter prices in Bengaluru.

TVS Scooty - ₹65k
Honda Activa 110cc (or any other 110cc scooter) - ₹90k
Ola S1 - ₹110k
TVS iQube - ₹120k
Ather 450+ - ₹130k
Ola S1 Pro - ₹140k
Ather 450x - ₹155k
Bajaj Chetak - ₹155k

We are clear that don't want to spend much over 1Lakh and hence the S1 was perfect from a pricing point of view. Now that it is out, I really have real choice and we've hit a dead end! Considering all the points, one option I can think of is a pre-owned Ather 450 or Bajaj Chetak If I can get a good one. The search is on and till we find that, My dad has to ride the vespa and I've to continue listening to his complaints...

[Karthik.thm]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

We are clear that don't want to spend much over 1Lakh and hence the S1 was perfect from a pricing point of view. Now that it is out, I really have real choice and we've hit a dead end! Considering all the points, one option I can think of is a pre-owned Ather 450 or Bajaj Chetak If I can get a good one. The search is on and till we find that, My dad has to ride the vespa and I've to continue listening to his complaints...

Have a look at TVS scooty Zest, its reasonably priced (around 80k), flat floor and much more practical.

[LoneRidder]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

I really have real choice and we've hit a dead end! Considering all the points, one option I can think of is a pre-owned Ather 450 or Bajaj Chetak If I can get a good one. The search is on and till we find that, My dad has to ride the vespa and I've to continue listening to his complaints...

Interesting and surprised by your cancellation! Any reasons for not checking on Ampere EV scooters?