Easy availability of charging stations will be crucial in nudging people to shift to electric
After commencing delivery of its scooters earlier this month, Ola Electric has started working on expansion of its charging network. When fully completed, it will be a dense network comprising more than 100,000 charging points. It will be the largest of its kind 2-wheeler charging network in the country. There are plans to cover 400 cities across the country.
Ola Electric Scooter Charging Network – 4k points by 2022
The first set of charging stations are expected to become operational in the next 6-8 weeks. By end of next year, Ola Electric has set a target of 4,000 charging stations. In the initial phase, much of these charging stations will be installed at Bharat Petroleum fuel stations and residential complexes.
The choice of location of charging stations seems perfect, as it will play a key role in motivating people to make the switch to electric. As of now, there’s significant resistance to electric two-wheelers. One key reason is range anxiety, as people are not sure about easy availability of charging stations. When people see Ola charging stations at fuel pumps and residential complexes, it will give them more confidence to switch to electric.
In future, Ola charging stations could be made available at other public places, offices and commercial centres. Ola also has plans to setup Hypercharger towers that can accommodate several EVs simultaneously. These are likely to come up at specific business districts and city centres.
Free charging for 6 months
To make it more attractive for existing users and potential customers, Ola is offering free charging at its charging points till June 2022. This will create significant savings for Ola electric scooter users. It will also motivate Ola scooter users to use the hypercharger network instead of charging their scooter at home.
A key benefit available with using Ola’s hypercharger network is that it has fast charging. On S1, 75 km can be loaded in just around 18 minutes. In comparison, achieving the same with a home charger will take much more time. Ola scooters have a portable home charger that can be easily plugged into any standard 5 Amp socket.
Ola Electric currently offers the S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters. While Ola S1 ARAI range is at 121 km on full charge, S1 Pro has range of 181 km. The latter has a dual-battery setup. S1 Pro has higher top speed of 115 kmph, as compared to 90 kmph of S1. It also has faster acceleration with 0-40 kmph achieved in 3 seconds. S1 takes 3.6 seconds. S1 is offered with ride modes of Normal and Sport whereas S1 Pro has an additional Hyper mode.
Prices start at Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,29,999, respectively. Prices may vary based on the level of subsidy offered by respective state governments. Ola scooters are currently the cheapest in states like Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharastra. Ola is offering attractive finance plans in partnership with banks and NBFCs to make ownership a lot easier for users.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
