Ola Electric says it is upgrading S1 customers to the S1 Pro. What’s the catch?

According to Ola’s message to its customers “You get access to the best-in-class hardware at the same price as the Ola S1”.

Ola Electric announced that customers who bought the S1 scooter are automatically being upgraded to the S1 Pro, free of cost. Or so it seems. The brand said these customers will only benefit from the hardware (just the machine) of the S1 Pro, but will have to pay Rs 30,000 in order to access all the software features offered by the S1 Pro. So what exactly does this mean?

When Ola Electric introduced its S1 range of scooters, the distinction was a fairly clear one. The S1 was the entry level scooter, with prices starting at Rs 1 lakh. Although identical in appearance to the S1 Pro, the scooter featured a smaller 2.98 kWh battery instead of the 3.97 kWh battery on the S1 Pro. This meant that certain features, including Ola’s “hyper mode”, were missing from the S1, which is lighter but has lesser range than the S1 Pro.

What customers prefer, according to Ola

When the bookings window for the scooters opened, Ola Electric had stated that a predominant amount of bookings were for the more expensive Ola S1 Pro (Rs 1,30,000) instead of the cheaper S1. According to the brand’s recent announcement, the relatively small portion of customers who ordered the S1 will automatically be upgraded (whether they like it or not) to the S1 Pro, which is heavier by 4kg without any of the features that make it the better option.

In order to gain access to the scooter’s software enabled features like “hyper mode”, hill hold, cruise control and voice assistance, customers will have to shell out Rs 30,000 more. The additional sum effectively puts the total cost on a par with the S1 Pro.

What are the similarities between the S1 and the S1 Pro? Both models come with the same 7-inch touchscreen interface, frame, suspension, an octa-core processor and body panels. Except the S1 Pro gets five additional colours.

Choice, limited

When asked if the customers receiving the upgrade will now benefit from the additional range of colours offered on the S1 Pro, Ola Electric said they will receive the S1 Pro in the same shade they ordered the S1 in. What this means is that the customers are receiving the upgrade without the benefit of any additional features.

In order to avail the S1 Pro’s extended (claimed) range of 181 km, its reduced charging time of 4 hours 48 minutes (instead of the 6 hour 30 minutes on the S1), its top speed of 115 kph (instead of the 90 kph limit on the S1), customers have no choice but shell out an additional Rs 30,000.

What this means is that customers who opted for the S1 for its affordability, will now receive a product that’s heavier by 4kg. According to Ola’s message to its customers “You get access to the best-in-class hardware at the same price as the Ola S1”.

What the memo fails to mention is that without the optional software upgrade (which is not free) the hardware is essentially dead weight. The statement from Ola added: “In the future, if you’d like to unlock the amazing software features, range and the full potential of the Ola S1 Pro, you can do so by paying Rs 30,000.”

So that’s not free of charge, no?