Ola to launch electric motorcycle in 2023, focus on indigenous technology before that
The most important part of an electric vehicle is the lithium-ion cell. Ola said that it will start production itself at its Krishnagiri factory in Tamil Nadu. Bhavish said that the capacity of their factory will be 5 GW in the initial stage. Domestic cell manufacturing is expected to reduce the cost of battery packs by 40-50%. Currently, the company imports its S1 and S1 Pro batteries from South Korean company LG Chem.
Generally, lithium-ion cells enter the Indian market from China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Therefore, Ola is going to invest around Tk 4,130 crore for battery innovation and research in the country to emphasize indigenous technology for self-reliance. They are building Asia's largest battery innovation center in Bangalore. Last Thursday, Ola CEO Bhabish said in a press conference that by 2023, Ola Electric will reduce costs and emerge as a profitable company.
Ola has announced plans to bring them for use in its upcoming motorcycle and scooter subscription plans. Meanwhile, yesterday Ola started rolling out their new software MoveOS 3 to all scooter users. New features include the facility to add multiple profiles, proximity lock-unlock, hyper charging, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
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