Ola Electric Bikes And Scooters To Get Cheaper?

The brand is developing rare-earth magnet-free motors, in addition to rolling out EVs with made-in-India cells - all of which will its EVs more affordable in the future

Quick News Highlights

• Ola Electric has revealed more details about its future plans

• The details have been revealed via the brand’s letter to the shareholders

• Ola Electric is developing its own motors and even an ABS - both with the aim of reducing costs

Ola Electric has revealed some interesting new details in their recent letter to the shareholders. The EV industry has been hit with rare-earth magnet crisis, with export restrictions by China. However, Ola Electric seems to be well-equipped to handle this situation. In addition to this, the brand has also been working on several aspects - all with the aim of streamlining manufacturing and eventually making its EVs more affordable. 

More Affordable Motors

Sourcing rare earth magnets has been a major issue that has the potential to disrupt the entire EV sector in India. Rare earth magnets are important components which are used in the manufacturing of electric motors. Ola Electric has been working on an alternative solution. 

The brand has revealed that they have been sourcing the rare earth magnets from two different countries of origin. This will help in reducing risk greatly, giving the brand a backup in case it becomes more difficult to source the magnets from one country.

Another interesting detail revealed in the shareholders’ letter is that the brand has been working on developing new motors. These new motors won’t be using rare earth magnets, and the program to develop started moving at a faster pace since April - when the issue of sourcing rare earth magnets came to light. The motors are claimed to be more affordable than the ones which use rare earth magnets. As a result, this should make its EVs more affordable than its competitors who rely on making traditional motors. Take a look at how the newly developed motors work in this video:

Ola Electric ABS?

Ola has also revealed that they are working on developing their own ABS (Anti-lock Braking System). Right now, Ola Electric has one model which gets ABS as standard - the Ola S1 Pro+. Ola has claimed that the system would be ready before January 2026.

With the recently announced legislation, which plans to make ABS mandatory in all two-wheelers, manufacturers are working on implementing this system across their lineup. With an in-house developed ABS, Ola Electric could cut costs in terms of manufacturing and keep the prices in check. We recently analysed how the implementation of ABS could change road safety and what the immediate effects could be.

Made-In-India Bharat Cell Integration

The brand has also been working on integrating its new made-in-India battery cells, called ‘Bharat Cell 4680’. The bikes and scooters with the new cells, will first start with the Ola Roadster X+ 9.1kWh variant and the Ola S1 Pro+ 5.3kWh variant. The deliveries of both will start by Navarati, so around November 2025. 

Once the sales of the two EVs stabilise, expect the brand to roll out the cell on its other products, which should help in lowering the prices even further. In fact, Ola is also working on a more cost-effective made-in-India LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) cell. The launch of competitively priced EVs with this type of cell is planned to take place by the end of 2026.