Category: Auto Tech

During the ‘Ola Customer Day’ event at its ‘hyperfactory’ in Tamil Nadu, Ola Electric teased what could be its first attempt in making a full-electric car. The official teasers of Ola Electric car released by its CEO Bhavish Aggarwal show what the car will look like.

Details from the teaser images

The teasers give us a hint that the upcoming first-ever Ola electric car will be a D-segment sedan. This car will roughly be the size of a Volkswagen Virtus or Honda City but will have an all-electric powertrain. The teasers hint toward the concept design, in which we can see a smooth-flowing silhouette and roofline. It shows that the upcoming car will shape into a D-segment sedan.

The teaser images also reveal a wide connected LED bar at the front, which engulfs LED headlamps on the sides. Even the rear profile of the Ola Electric car has a similar-looking LED light bar illuminated in red. There are illuminated ‘Ola’ logos – a white logo on the hood and a red logo on the boot.

In addition to the silhouettes of the concept teasers released, Bhavish Aggarwal also tweeted an additional image confirming this insight. In this image, we can see a pixelated image of a blue-coloured car on a TV screen.

Expected mechanical details

Apart from these minuscule design highlights, Ola Electric has not taken off covers from further details. No other details related to the battery and motor setups, interior highlights and features came out yet. Though, this all-electric car might have a big and powerful battery in the range of 70-80 kWh. This battery pack might offer a best-in-class range and performance outputs.

However, the company has indicated that more details will get revealed at a public event scheduled for 15th August. The date also happens to mark the first anniversary of the Ola S1 Pro, the first-ever product from Ola Electric. Though, the CEO has hinted that this first-ever Ola Electric car will hit the roads by the end of 2023.

The Ola S1 Pro gained a lot of wanted and unwanted attention to date. Citing this, it will be interesting to see how this new Ola Electric car shapes up. Given the promising specifications and dimensions of a D-segment sedan, this car will certainly not be a cheap offering. We expect this new electric car to arrive in the range of Rs 20-25 lakh. At this price, will this all-new electric car gain immense attention and acceptance like the S1 Pro scooter? Only time will tell.

The quartet of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover has already launched their niche full-electric SUVs in India. Joining the group is the last remaining ‘mainstream’ luxury car maker Volvo. The Volvo XC40 Recharge will arrive in India in July as a locally-assembled model.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge is already smaller and more affordable than the CBU models like Mercedes-Benz EQC, BMW X1, Audi e-Tron and Jaguar i-Pace. However, sources say that the new Volvo XC40 Recharge will witness local assembly in India. This move by Volvo will further help it to bring the price of XC40 Recharge even lower. Volvo will be locally assembling the XC40 Recharge at its production facility in Hasakote near Bengaluru, Karnataka. Volvo already assembles models like XC40, S60, S90 and XC90 in this production facility.

With this planned move, the Volvo XC40 Recharge will become the first luxury EV to be made in India. However, the expected pricing of the new XC40 Recharge will be in the range of Rs 50-60 lakh, thus bringing it closer to the latest all-electric global offering from Kia, the EV6.

The new XC40 Recharge is based on the petrol-powered Volvo XC40. However, it gets some prominent tweaks on the exterior in comparison to the former. The changes include a closed front grille, a different alloy wheel design and a front trunk. Replacing the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine of the regular XC40 is an all-electric powertrain. It is a combination of a 402 bhp/660 Nm electric motor and a 78 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

The powerful electric motor of the XC40 Recharge can make the SUV reach an electronically-limited top speed of 180 kmph. At the same time, it can cover 0-100 kmph time of 5.9 seconds. The 78 kWh battery pack claims a maximum driving range of 418 km (under WLTP test conditions). With 150 kW power output, this battery pack of XC40 Recharge can get charged from 0-80 per cent in 40 minutes. Using this power output, it can also obtain a range of 80-100 km in 10 minutes of charging. Using the regular 11kW AC fast charging option, the battery takes 8-10 hours to get fully charged.

The prices and bookings of the new XC40 Recharge will be announced in July 2022. However, the official deliveries of the all-electric SUV will begin sometime during the festive season in October 2022. Apart from the Kia E6 and the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5, the XC40 Recharge will also be priced against the BMW i4 all-electric sedan.

As promised by Ola Electric, the company has rolled out the “Move OS 2.0” software update for the S1 Pro. The Ola S1 Pro finally gets all those missing fancy features previewed at the time of the launch, but not included in the production-spec version of the scooter. In addition to this, a couple of software bugs have also got resolved under this update. Here are all those new updates which are part of the Move OS 2.0 software upgrade.

“Eco” riding mode

Until now, the Ola S1 Pro was available only with three riding modes – normal, sports and hyper – in the order of the performance output, they deliver. Ola Electric has now added another riding mode named ‘eco’, which sits below the normal riding mode. With this riding mode, the scooter can now achieve a maximum riding range of upto 170 km. Ola also claims that around 100 S1 Pro owners have achieved 200 km of range with this software update. 

Cruise control

While the Ola S1 Pro is not India’s first e-scooter to get cruise control as a comfort feature, it now finally makes its way into the scooter as a standard feature. The cruise control in the Ola S1 Pro can be engaged at speeds between 20 km/h to 80 km/h. However, there’s a catch – the cruise control is not operational in the eco mode, but only in normal, sports and hyper modes.

Digital locking and unlocking

The customers of Ola S1 Pro can now lock and unlock the scooter through the new Ola Electric Companion smartphone app. Apart from this new feature, customers have got access to a few new features like opening the under-seat boot compartment and monitoring the charge status, odometer reading and remaining range as per the different riding modes on this new app.

Navigation

The Ola S1 Pro owners can finally operate the wireless navigation feature on the instrument screen on the scooter. The owner can now insert the location and refer to the live route map through the touchscreen interface.

Bluetooth-operated music system

From the beginning, the Ola S1 Pro comes equipped with speakers on board. Under this new update, the S1 Pro owners can listen to the music through these speakers while on the go. The customers can connect their smartphones with the scooter and stream music through platforms like Spotify and JioSaavn.

Apart from rolling out these additional features and updates, Ola Electric teased a few images of its upcoming pure-electric cars. The company has stated that it will unveil more details on these cars on 15th August 2022.

Bgauss has been one of the recent entrants in the world of electric two wheelers. The company has already been selling B8 and A2 electric two wheelers and recently launched the D15 model for India. Bookings are already open and customers can opt from two versions. These are the BG D15 Pro and the BG D15i.

The Bgauss BG D15 is more like an electric step-thru. It is available in five colour options and the full metal body aids durability in the long run. The large 16-inch alloy wheels make the EV looks large enough. You can book the D15 via their official website for just Rs 499. The normal D15i carries and ex-showroom price of Rs 99,999 while the D15 Pro has an ex-showroom price of Rs 1,14,999.

Also read: Simple One e-scooter Test Rides Will Start Soon

Both the e-scooters gets an electric motor with peak torque of 110 Nm and 3 modes of Eco, Sports and Reverse. Max speed is limited to 60 km/h. Acceleration from 0 to 40 km/h stands at 7 seconds. The certified range Bgauss BG D15 models stands at 115 km. The company claims a full charging time of 5 hrs 30 mins. The Pro, being expensive has additional features. Moreover, it includes Bluetooth connectivity and smart features including geo fencing, find my vehicle buzzer, vehicle theft alarm et al.

If you are interested in this new e-bike, you can visit their local store – details are on their website.

A few days back we updated you on the ‘new’ delivery timeline for the much awaited Simple One e-scooter. It was almost an year back when the company had thrown open the bookings for its first offering. For those interested in this scooter, good news now comes in the form of confirmed test drive schedules. Simple One has stated that they will kick start the rides from 20th July onwards. These rides will be conducted in as many as 12 cities. Do have a look at the image below to see if your city falls in this plan or not.

In parallel, the company is also gearing up to launch the Simple One electric scooter. It should be noted that bookings started on 15th August last year and thousands of citizens (including me) have been waiting patiently to get our hands on the vehicle. At the same time, a lot of people have waited to first experience the vehicle before going ahead with the process. It comes as no surprise that the test rides are kicking off from the IT capital of India. We are assuming a registration process will start on their website – so do keep an eye out for that.

Simple One Scooter

Coming back to the scooter, for its claimed driving range, the Simple One caused quite a stir in the market. The e-scooter comes with a battery capacity of 4.8kWh and an 8.5kW motor. This provides 72 Nm of peak torque resulting in a stated driving range of 236 kilometres. The company introduced an extra 1.6kWh battery earlier this year, bringing the total capacity to 6.4kWh and claiming a range of over 300km in optimum conditions. The extra battery pack costs Rs 35,000 and will be installed in the boot of the scooter eating up a significant amount of boot space.

The Simple One electric scooter is claimed to sprint from 0-40 kmph in just 2.85 seconds. In contrast, the top speed is 105 kmph. Different driving modes will be available on the Simple One e-scooter, affecting its performance and acceleration. The Simple One electric scooter costs Rs 1.09 lakh (ex-showroom) for the standard and Rs 1.44 lakh (ex-showroom) for the longer battery version.

Tata Motors launched an updated version of its e-SUV last month. Called the Nexon EV Max, this 2022 model carries a lot of changes and additions to make it a better package for prospective customers. The Nexon EV remains one of the best electric SUVs you can buy under Rs 25 lakh and here are 6 things you need to know about the new model

Improved Range

One of the biggest roadblocks in purchasing an electric car today is the limited driving range. Range anxiety remains a concern and Tata has addressed this issue to an extent. The updated Nexon EV Max comes with a claimed driving range (on a full charge) of 437km. This is as much as 125km higher than the previous version. This means in real world driving situations, the EV Max will still cover a minimum of 300km. Most owners thus will have to charge the SUV every 5-7 days.
Do note that the improved range is primarily due to the bigger battery pack.

Better performance

The older Tata Nexon EV had an output of 129 bhp of power and 245 Nm of torque. The new Max variant sees a small improvement, with max power being 143 bhp and max torque being 250. This hike helps to negate the extra weight of the bigger battery pack. Top speed has also been increased to 140 km/h – still electronically limited like the previous model.

Re-gen modes

Tata Motors had added regen modes in the 2022 Nexon EV Max. Regen ensures that when you lift off the accelerator pedal, the kinetic energy is utilised to power back the batteries. For the updated e-SUV, users can pick from three levels of regen with the hardest level giving extra braking, thereby enabling drivers to use one pedal drive. This means by lifting off the right pedal, users can control the reduction of speed and do not have to rely on the brake pedal.

More features

Tata Motors has worked hard to catch up with competition when it comes to the feature list. The updated model for instance gets a host of add-ons including an electronic park brake and air purifier. Front seats get ventilation, in comes wireless charging and the gear lever has been replaced by a rotary knob. This also frees up space between the seats. Cruise control, hill hold, ESP and smart watch integration are a carry over from the previous version.

Related Read : Kia EV6 vs Hyundai IONIQ 5 Comparsion

Its heavier and lower

The bigger battery pack has added 70kgs to the overall weight of the car. Plus, about 30kg of additional load comes from new added features. Due to this extra weight, Tata has tweaked the suspension as well. At the same time, to accommodate the biggest battery pack, ground clearance has gone down by 10mm.

Price hike

And finally the numbers! The 2022 Nexon EV Max sees a big hike in pricing and most of this is due to the bigger battery pack. As compared to the outgoing version, prices have gone up by over Rs 2 lakh. The Nexon EV Max is available in two versions of XZ+ and XZ+ Lux with prices starting at Rs 17.74 lakh.

Prices: (ex-showroom)
Nexon EV Max XZ+ 3.3 kW charger – 17.74 lakh
Nexon EV Max XZ+ 7.2 kW charger – 18.24 lakh
Nexon EV Max XZ+ Lux 3.3 kW charger – 18.74 lakh
Nexon EV Max XZ+ Lux 7.2 kW charger – 19.24 lakh

One of the largest carmakers in the Indian market, Maruti Suzuki will soon be launching the new-age 2022 Brezza. Maruti first brought in the Brezza in 2016 and the new model is expected to launch on June 30. It features an all-new design, engine option and hosts loads of features that will be new in the compact SUV. In this article, we will be sharing the tech laded features that will interest you if you’re looking to buy the 2022 Maruti Brezza. Here are some of them –

9.0-Inch touchscreen infotainment system

In today’s age, a large touchscreen with a good user interface is what people appreciate. Maruti will be bringing in the 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that will host several features like Bluetooth compatibility, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We also expect increased connected car features via the Suzuki Connect App.

360-degree camera

Another new feature is the inclusion of a 360-degree camera. This one is seen in the new-age Maruti Baleno too. This feature helps the driver parking at tighter spots without needing anyone’s help. Sadly, this feature will be limited to the top-of-the-line variant only.

Head-up Display

What’s new is the inclusion of a head-up display. This too has been borrowed from the 2022 Maruti Baleno. Basically, it is a screen that pops up ahead of the instrument console. It displays a set of information like the speed, navigation and more so the driver would not have to take his/her eyes off the road. Welcome feature that aids safety as well.

Wireless Charging

We do expect that to compete with its rivals, Maruti might provide a wireless charging pad in the Brezza. Basically, if your device supports wireless charging then this feature will be useful. The wireless charging pad will help in juicing up the battery of your phone without the use of any wire, thus freeing up clutter on the inside.

Sunroof

The new 2022 Maruti Brezza will be the first Maruti offering to come with a sunroof. This has been something that consumers have been looking forward to in Maruti cars. Although not a large panoramic one, the addition of a sunroof will help the new Brezza to rope in customers easily.

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Ola has been testing Move OS 2 for a few months and will launch the final version on June 18th.

The release of Move OS 2.0 has been scheduled for June 18th, according to Ola Electric. The company has been testing the new OS and delivering the upgrade for a number of scooters for a few months. Some of the features on the Ola S1 and S1 Pro were lacking when they were first launched. Scooters will get benefit from the debut of Move OS 2.0, which will include a number of new functions.

The new OS will come as an over-the-air (OTA) update for all Ola Scooters. The update will also add new functionality to the previous versions. Music On The Go, which allows the user to play music through the Ola scooter speaker, Eco Mode, which extends the vehicle’s range, the New Ola Electric App, which allows customers to lock and unlock their scooters. Another helpful feature will be Navigation on Dash, which provides turn-by-turn navigation. In addition, the new version includes Cruise Control, which will improve the riding experience.

When it comes to the specifications of the S1 and S1 Pro, the S1 has a range of 121 kilometres and gets a 2.98kWh battery pack. The larger S1 Pro, on the other hand, has a range of 181 kilometres and powered by a 3.97kWh battery. Both scooters come with modern features, and the Move OS 2.0 upgrade will expand the electric scooter’s feature set.

Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola, previously stated that the company will give a special edition Ola S1 Pro Gerua to the owner who can receive a range of more than 200 kilometres on a single charge.

Several recent fires involving various e-scooters have occurred. Some Ola customers have also reported their scooters catching fire or having other problems. By contacting a specific batch of scooters, the company was able to identify and solve the problem. Ola claims to aim to offer safe, ecologically friendly transportation, and that such accidents would not occur again, as promised.

Almost every manufacturer is entering the electric vehicle segment in India. Hyundai and Kia have announced their premium electric SUVs to keep up with the competition. The Hyundai SUV is known as the Ioniq 5, while its sister brand, Kia, has introduced the EV6. While the EV6 has already been launched, the Ioniq 5 will be in showrooms by August or September. Both electric SUVs are built on the same Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). They also share a lot of mechanical components. Here’s a quick comparison of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs Kia EV6 to see how similar they are and how they vary.

Design and Dimensions

The Ioniq 5 and EV6 are built on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which is designed specifically for electric vehicles. The EV6 has a sporty design with a coupe-like profile and many curved components. The elevated back deck further adds to the athletic feel. The Ioniq 5 will draw heads with its unique headlamp and rear light design.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5’s wheelbase is a full 100 mm longer than the EV6’s, despite the fact that both EVs are built on the same platform. Due to its more SUV-like design, the Ioniq 5 is the taller of the two cars.

Powertrain 

For the Ioniq 5, Hyundai is expected to offer a 58 kWh battery pack and a new 77.4 kWh battery pack with RWD and AWD options. The Kia EV6, on the other hand, has a 77.4 kWh battery pack. It will also be available in both RWD and AWD formats.

Both EVs have the same specs, but the Ioniq 5 could get a 58-kWh battery pack. The main difference is range, with the RWD Kia EV6 getting 21 kilometres more and the AWD Kia EV6 receiving 17 kilometres more than the Ioniq 5. It’s possible that this is due to the EV6’s more aerodynamic design.

Features

The EV6 will be equipped with a plethora of cutting-edge technology and amenities. These include two 12.3-inch screens, a 10-way power adjustable driver and passenger seat with memory function for the driver, dual-zone climate control, UV glass, ventilated driver and passenger seats, multi-driving modes, rain detecting wipers, and LED DRLs and headlights. A motorised tailgate, Meridian premium sound system, AR Head-Up Display, and other goodies are included in the GT range.

EV6’s safety features include Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) system. Safety aids include ABS, ESC, Multi-Collision Brake Assist, all-four disc brakes, brake assistant system, VSM, 360-degree camera with front and rear parking sensors, and other key safety equipment.

When it comes to the Ioniq 5’s features, the international model has a unique interior feature called the ‘Universal Island’. This one-of-a-kind centre console may be adjusted 5.5 inches back and forward. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment screen, AR-HUD, column-type shift-by-wire, sliding (5.3 inches forward) and reclining second-row seats, ‘Vision Roof’ panoramic sunroof without cross members, 15-watt wireless smartphone charger, and an 8-speaker Bose sound system are among the Ioniq 5’s other notable interior features. These features are expected to be carried over to the India standard variant as well.

Pricing

The Kia EV6 GT Line RWD is priced at Rs 59.95 lakh (ex-showroom), while the GT Line AWD is priced at Rs 64.95 lakh (ex-showroom). The Kia EV6 will be delivered from September. Hyundai, on the other hand, intends to bring its flagship electric SUV to the country as a CKD unit. Due to local assembly, Hyundai would be able to maintain the Ioniq 5 electric SUV’s price in India at around Rs 50-55 lakh.

When Ola Electric launched the S1 electric scooter in India in August 2021, the scooter came to the market in two variants – S1 and S1 Pro. While the S1 arrived at an entry-level price of Rs 99,999, the more-premium S1 Pro came at Rs 1,29,999. However, due to production constraints, Ola Electric put a hold on the entry-level S1 and started delivering the S1 Pro on a higher priority. Now, in a recent development, the production of Ola S1 will begin in late 2022 and will be re-introduced with an even lower price point.

Specifications of Ola S1

Compared to the more-premium S1 Pro, the base-spec Ola S1 misses a few features and gets a smaller battery pack. Visually, both variants have the same design and dimensions. However, while the S1 Pro gets a 3.96 kWh battery pack which offers a claimed range of 181 km, the S1 features a 2.98 kWh battery pack which claims a riding range of 121 km.

While both the S1 and S1 Pro have the same 8.5 kW electric motor, the top speed of these variants differs – 90 kmph for the S1 and 115 kmph for the S1 Pro. While the S1 has two riding modes of ‘Normal’ and ‘Sports’, the S1 Pro gets the additional ‘Hyper’ riding mode, in which the scooter can touch the higher top speed of 115 kmph.

Compared to the S1 Pro, the base-spec S1 misses out on features like cruise control, hill hold assist and voice assistant, which are currently restricted in the S1 Pro and will be made available in the upcoming Move OS 2.1 software update. In its comeback form, the Ola S1 will also come equipped with the new ‘Eco’ mode, which will be available to all the users as a part of the upcoming software update.

Do you think the comeback of Ola S1 will increase the sales volumes of Ola Electric? Will it be able to compete with other lower cost electric scooter offerings? Let us know in the comments section below.