Bengaluru: Cab aggregator Ola is entering big time into the electric scooter market. It is building the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) factory and has released a video of the site.
Last year, Ola acquired an Amsterdam-based electric scooter company Etergo BV, which is believed to be the base of its product. This electric scooter is expected to be launched in the next few weeks.
Design-wise, it is similar to Etergo AppScooter. The scooter uses swappable high energy density lithium batteries that offer a range of up to 240 km. It has a 50-litre under-seat storage capacity. The scooter is expected to be priced under Rs 1 lakh (ex-showroom) and will face competition from Ather 450X, Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube.
The first batch of Ola e-scooters will be made in Etergo’s Netherlands-based facility. Ola’s Tamil Nadu factory will be built on a 500-acre area in Krishnagiri district. It will start with an annual capacity of 2 million and go up to 10 million EVs by 2022. The mega factory will have 3,000 robots and is expected to churn out one EV every 2 seconds.
There will be an investment of Rs 2,400 crore and it will help create 10,000 new jobs, the company claims.
