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How would you like to see the Ola S1 electric scooter in the Philippines?

Made in India, bound for the rest of the world?

Earl Lee Earl Lee on Feb 02, 2022
Ola Electric S1 Lineup

Indian brands, or brands with Indian influence and production facilities, are finding their way into the hands of many Filipino riders. Just to name a few, we have the likes of Royal Enfield, Kawasaki-Bajaj, and even TVS that are making the rounds in the market, selling affordable yet quality motorcycles and even tricycles. Even BMW Philippines with its G 310 R and G 310 GS are notable Indian-made motorcycles that exude a good level of quality and performance. 

The South-Asian country is also looking to expand into the electric segment of motorcycles and trikes, and one such brand could be a key player in the electric space in the near future and that is Ola Electric. 

If you haven’t heard, the company’s S1 scooter made a lot of noise back when the company first announced and unveiled the model, but what was groundbreaking about it wasn’t its design, but its price. Whereas a majority of electric motorcycles and scooters are on the more expensive end of the spectrum, Ola matches the S1 with the price of a lot of affordable scooters out in the market, starting at $1,350 USD, or just about P70,000. That’s around the same price as a Suzuki Skydrive 125, Honda BeAT 110, or Yamaha Mio i125. It also offers up similar performance, but with the obvious benefit of being immune to rising gasoline prices. 

As for its performance, you can expect about 110 kilometers on a single charge on the Ola S1, which would make it a great companion for trips inside the city, which is the task that most scooters face anyway. On top of that, Ola is also presenting a business model that is socially distant, offering consumers the ability to purchase and have their orders delivered to their homes. 

The company was also able to secure an additional $200,000,000 USD investment this February, bringing its total valuation up to $5 billion USD. That means that Ola could be on the rise to offer up affordable scooters to the rest of the world. What’s stopping the company are some production and delivery woes, which will hopefully be solved in the near future. 

Still, considering that the market is ripe with opportunities for an all-electric scooter to make waves, it would be interesting to see Ola make an entry, whether it be in the near or far future. On top of that, charging stations are a must should Ola find itself in the country, which isn’t a far-fetched idea given how the Philippine government is actively looking to install a network of charging stations sometime in the future. It may not be now, but eventually, we will start seeing the proliferation of electric vehicles whether of the four or two-wheeled variety. So will Ola make it in the Philippines? They could, but first, the company has to prove itself in its home country before it can be considered for our market. 

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