Ola’s Electric Car is Hitting Indian Roads! Who is On-Line Next?

Ola is about to launch its first electric car in India, which would be its first step into the industry

Electric car sales powered through in 2021 and retained this momentum in 2022. But experts believe future growth will demand more efforts in diversifying battery manufacturing and critical mineral supplies to minimize the risks of bottlenecks and price hikes. According to reports, sales of electric cars doubled in 2021, despite strains on global supply chains; reportedly, the popularity of electric vehicles continues to gain momentum in 2022. The number of electric cars on the world’s roads by the end of 2021 reached around 16 million, which is triple the amount in 2018. In China, electric car sales nearly tripled in 2021 reaching over 3 million, accounting for about half of the global total, sales also grew strongly in Europe and the United States. Quite similarly, the popularity of electric cars in India also grew consistently. Recently, it is speculated that Ola Electric will likely launch a new product on the occasion of Independence Day. Ola is about to launch an electric car in the country, and this would be its first-ever initiative to launch an electric car in the country.

India’s Electric Car Competition Intensifies

Quite recently, back in 2021, on the very same day, Ola launched its Ola S1-series electric scooters. Even though the launch of the car is not yet confirmed, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal hinted that the company is looking forward to producing a futuristic-looking vehicle, which will very much resemble a small hatchback car. Besides Ola, India’s EV car race is also trailblazed by Tata Motors, as the company enjoyed an overall 80% market share in the EV domain in 2021. Its Tata Nexon EV was denoted as the best-selling electric car in India in 2021. The company managed to sell around 9,111 units of this EV in 2021. Next hails, MG’s ZS EV which comes second in the list as the largest EV producer in the market.

Coming to the present day, Ola Electric has been teasing its four-wheeler electric car for quite a while now. Earlier in June, Ola hinted at the arrival of its new car via sleek, attractive DRLs with red accents. The teaser also revealed that the car’s front and rear design will include Ola’s logo in it. According to Aggarwal’s tweet, the event will be live streamed on the company’s official media handle, even though, the exact time of the event is not yet mentioned, the executives denoted that the live link of the event will be released on the day of the launch.

Challenges that India’s Emerging EV Domain is About to Face

India is currently practicing to reduce its carbon footprint and the government plans to have over 25% of the cars and the majority of the two and three-wheelers in the EV category by 2030. The paradigm shift in the nature of transportation has probably started, but the EV industry in India is about to face some paramount challenges as it evolves. India’s demographic needs and economic scenarios might drastically affect the production and use of electric cars in India. Unlike the US or European nations, India’s electric mobility transition will be majorly led by the two and three-wheelers since these modes of vehicles will spearhead the last-mile connectivity and delivery across the country. The primary challenge is that the vehicles in the electric category possess high upfront costs and frequent gravy spending on batteries. The company that manages to curtail these challenges will definitely lead the industry. Presently, we all await Ola’s first step into the flourishing EV industry.