Upcoming Ola Electric Bikes Launch Likely In 2025

Quick News Highlights:

• Ola electric bikes were unveiled on August 15, 2023
• Earlier the bikes were planned to be introduced by the end of 2024, but the plan has been revised, and will be launched in 2025
• The patent images of the production-spec bikes were leaked in May 2024
• Expect the Roadster to be launched first, likely to be the cheapest Ola electric bike

The launch timeline of the Ola electric bikes have been revealed. In Ola Electric’s Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), which is a document that companies have to file before an IPO (Initial Public Offering) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the EV maker said, “We expect to begin delivery of the motorcycles in the first half of fiscal 2026.” This means they will be launched between April and September, 2025. The EV maker also aims to start the deliveries around the same time. 

Ola unveiled four concept electric bikes on August 15, 2023, including, Diamondhead, Adventure, Roadster and Cruiser. Back then Ola planned to introduce them by the end of 2024. However, it seems like the launch plans have been delayed. That said, it’s not necessarily a bad thing as this will give the EV maker more time to design, develop and test their electric motorcycles thoroughly. We believe the first of the electric motorcycles could be the Roadster. In fact, the patent images of the production-ready versions of the upcoming Ola electric bikes leaked just a month ago. Though the overall design looked somewhat similar to the concept images, the bikes had several cost-effective elements like a conventional box-section swingarm, telescopic fork, single front disc, among others.

The most affordable Ola Roadster is expected to offer a similar performance as a 125cc petrol-powered bike or the Revolt RV400, and is likely to be the most affordable bike among the four bikes. We expect the Ola Roadster to be priced aggressively at around Rs 1.4 lakh mark (ex-showroom). Expect the rest of the bikes to be introduced in a phased manner.

Indian customers have embraced electric scooters, and Ola claims to have a market share of 49 percent in the electric scooter segment. But when customers think about electric bikes, they expect them to have good performance, and more importantly, a much higher range. That said, with the current level of technology and lithium-ion battery costs, offering an affordable electric bike with a long-range will be challenging both in terms of engineering and marketing. This is why the electric bike penetration in the Indian electric two-wheeler market is less than 1 percent, with most of the products being offered in the over Rs 1 lakh segment.

All said and done, it’s good that Ola wants to get into the action right now when the segment is still developing. This will help the EV maker have a head-start as compared to other upcoming electric bikes. Moreover, with the large dealer network, things might just work well for Ola as far as e-bikes are concerned. Also, by the time the electric bikes are introduced in the market, they will be compliant with the upcoming FAME 3 subsidy.

Moreover, Ola will also have to speed up its charging infrastructure network to cater to possibly heavier demands of electric motorcycle users, who may want to cover greater distances, including inter-city travel. The EV maker currently has around 1,000 fast chargers.