Ola electric scooters test ride booking slots open for buyers in four cities

Ola electric scooters test ride booking slots have opened for buyers in four cities including Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru.

However, the test rides slots are only available for November 12, 13, and 14 between 10 am to 7 pm in all four cities, instead of the earlier promised date of November 10.

In a communication to its customers, Ola said, “Test rides starting in select cities from November 10, 20201 and will be rolled out across India in the next few weeks. Find the nearest Ola Test Ride Camp and book your slot now.”

The company added that if customers wish to pay the balance amount, the final payment window will open from 6 pm on November 10, 2021. In Delhi, Ola’s test ride camp will be set up at Forum (WeWork) in Cyber City, Gurugam, South City Mall in Kolkata, Himalaya Mall in Ahmedabad, and Prestige Cube Laskar in Bengaluru.

The company has earlier said that after taking the test rides, customers will have the choice to defer their purchase. Today, Ola has also launched an exclusive helpline number for customers who have bought the Ola S1 scooters which is a higher-priced variant of its electric scooter with a couple of additional features.

Second purchase window

Earlier this month, Ola Electric postponed the opening of its second purchase window to December 16 from the earlier announced date of November 1, citing unprecedented demand.

The change in the second purchase window is said to have no effect on those who have already secured their scooters in the first purchase window of September 15 to 16 by paying ₹20,000. However, the constant changes in the schedule have made customers worried, who are now taking to Twitter to voice their grievances.

In September, Ola Electric raised over $200 million from Falcon Edge, Softbank and other investors, at a valuation of $3 billion.

Ola Electric has committed to employ 10,000 women at the company’s manufacturing facility Ola Futurefactory and make it entirely women-run. Located in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, Ola Futurefactory is a 500-acre manufacturing unit set up for the production of Ola’s two wheeler EVs. The manufacturing facility is said to have the capacity to produce 10 million electric scooters per year.

Along with the manufacturing plans, Ola Electric also has plans to set up a charging network called Ola Hypercharger Network. The company claims to set up more than 1,00,000 charging points across 400 cities. The first Hypercharger has already been installed in the Ola Campus.