Ola Electric Scooter has made a revolution of sorts in the past few months. Ola Electric has launched two models of electric bikes namely S1 & S 1 Pro. The light and smaller battery electric bike S1 and a slightly more powerful S1 Pro. The range of these electric bikes are 120 km and 180 km for a complete charge. However, the company has received much flak in the recent days for the inordinate delay and a convoluted booking process that lacks transparency.
Waiting for the delivery of a vehicle is nothing new and for the Indians who have waited years to get a telephone connection this delay in the delivery of a vehicle is nothing new. At the same time, the bulk of the people who are looking to buy this new age bike have never experienced the waiting. Bulk of the people who have placed orders for Ola electric bike is the generation that has never waited. So, it is understandable that the company is facing continuous onslaught on the social media.
The Lengthy Process of Booking Ola S1 & S1 Pro Electric Bikes
The mobility company Ola which has a large customer base in the ride booking and ride sharing space has decided to endeavour in to the automobile business earlier. The company had launched the plans for building the largest two wheeler plant in a much hyped and fanfare filled way. As a result of the years of good will and Ola was immediately able to transfer the goodwill into money by getting pre-bookings without even showing the operational model to the potential buyers.
The model was teased on July 15 and the first pre-bookings started on August 15th. These month long waits continued and on September 16th and 17th, the pre-bookings had to be confirmed by paying ₹20,000/-
This seemingly lengthy process ended in a sigh of relief when the electric bike manufacturer assured that the bike will be open to test ride by October 16th. Ola also assured that the deliveries will start in the October month. However, when Ola had revised the statement saying that the test ride dates have been pushed back by 15 days and the deliveries will start in November, it has created a storm in the social media.
Angry buyers who have been made to wait for almost 6 months for the delivery have taken to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to vent out their anger. However, the company has fended off the criticism by stating that the company is not going back on words but only delaying the delivery commitments so that people can experience the ride before making the full payments for the electric bike.
Ola test ride dates have been pushed to November 10th, almost 15 days from the originally declared date of October 15th. This non-adherence to the company assured dates has brought much criticism to the company and the founder Bavish Agarwal.
Will Ola Honour Delivery Commitments? When Can You Get the Delivery of Ola S 1 & Ola S 1 Pro?
Ola had built its reputation and brand affinity by providing a good customer experience in the ride booking segment of the market. So, this temporary delay in the schedule is that and that alone – a temporary delay. We can expect Ola to provide the first set of deliveries by November 2021.
The first set of delivery can be expected around November 25th. However, if you are not lucky enough, your delivery could be moved to the second leg which could be in early 2022.
The Failed Promises & the New Revolution in the Electric Performance Biking
The Netizens have trolled Ola for its lack of transparency. If Ola had attracted the office goers and home makers in the city, it was the Revolt RV 400 which had caused a huge expectation among the students and young millennial in the cities.
The good news is that Revolt has reopened the booking for the larger RV 400 & the slightly smaller RV 300. It has started on 21st October, 2021. The aggressive styling, powerful electric motor and the 72 V & 3.24 KWh Lithium ion Battery. The higher powered RV 400 can go up to 150 km for one charge at eco mode. However, if you want to race through the streets of your city, the range gets almost halved at just 80 km for one full charge.
Officials at Revolt claims that the motorcycle brand has achieved 70% localisation and within the next two months that is by January the brand would achieve 100% localisation. As of now, Revolt is making electric sportster in the Manesar plant of Haryana.
Another important improvement in the Revolt RV 400 is that the company now covers almost 70 cities in India. While the showrooms and distribution network for Revolt RV 400 is present only in a handful of cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, The brand has also expanded to other Tier II and Tier III cities. Following on the footsteps of Ola, Revolt has also opened the online booking for the stylish Revolt RV 400 & RV 300.
Ola Electric S1 starts at just 1 Lakh and the powerful S1 Pro starts at 1.2 Lakhs. The price of Revolt RV 400 is more competitive at ₹ 91,000 and the other model comes with a price tag of ₹ 95,000/- On the price point Revolt RV 400 is the clear winner but Ola has already built a brand affinity due to large number of customers for the car pooling app.
While Ola has made tall claims and failed to follow it through with solid actions, Revolt has reopened the bookings and capitalised on the negative backlash that Ola is facing. So, which one are you waiting to buy?
The stylish and sporty Revolt RV 400 or the compact and cute Ola S1?
