Ola electric scooter gets more affordable with S1 Air offered at Rs 85k
Deliveries of Ola S1 Air are expected to commence from April next year while the online purchase window will open in the first week of February 2023.
’s venture into the electric mobility space hasn’t been smooth, to say the least. Still, it managed to generate massive interest among the masses. The Bengaluru-based EV manufacturing startup has recorded a sales volume of 9,634 units sold (as per Vahan) in the month of September this year.
This marked a significant jump of 180% over the previous month which recorded a volume of 3,440 units. Both offerings from – S1 and S1 Pro– cater to the premium segment due to their high price tags. The company addressed this by recently launching a more affordable electric scooter– the S1 Air.
Ola S1 Air
This new electric scooter serves as the entry-level model to the S1 range. Initially priced at an introductory Rs 79,999 for the occasion of Diwali, the e-scooter is now offered at Rs 84,999 (both prices ex-showroom). Interested customers can register bookings with a token amount of Rs 999 via the company’s official website. Deliveries of S1 Air are scheduled to commence in April next year.
Design and underpinnings
As expected, S1 Air has more basic underpinnings and is devoid of the premium equipment of its siblings. That said, it is built on the same platform and retains the same design as S1 and S1 Pro barring a few subtle variations. For starters, S1 Air gets a redesigned seat along with a more basic single-piece grab rail for the pillion.
It also features a redesigned flat floorboard as opposed to a hump in the middle on S1 and S1 Pro which makes carrying luggage a bit easier. The under-seat storage has been reduced by 2 litres with a total capacity of 34 litres. Customers get to choose from five colour options that include blue, white, red, black, and grey.
Ola S1 Air highlights
Ola has also made some changes to the scooter’s hardware setup. Suspension duties on S1 Air are carried out by more conventional telescopic forks up front and twin shock absorbers at the rear. To bring down costs, Ola has equipped both ends of S1 Air with drum brakes. All these changes have resulted in a lower kerb weight of 99 kg as compared to S1 Pro which weighs around 125 kg.
Powertrain specs and features
Further, adding to the lower weight is a smaller battery pack with 2.5kW capacity which returns a claimed maximum range of 101 km (in Eco mode) on a single charge. This battery supplies energy to a hub-mounted motor making a peak power of 4.5 kW. S1 Air can touch a top speed of 85 kmph.
Despite being thinner on the technology front, Ola has bestowed S1 Air with some sophisticated features including a 7-inch touchscreen TFT display that is integrated with the MoveOS 3.0 software and comes with smartphone connectivity, onboard navigation, music playback, vacation mode and multiple moods. S1 Air also benefits from a party mode which plays music on its speakers through the connected smartphone.
Ola Electric assembly line
Other creature comforts include a reverse functionality, hill hold assist, proximity alert and multiple profiles that eliminate the need to share passcodes. Unfortunately, S1 Air misses out on cruise control. There are three ride modes to choose from– Eco, Regular, and Sport, where Sport extracts the best performance from the motor.
Edited by Akanksha Sarma