Ola Electric is offering upgrades to the buyers of its standard S1 electric scooter for free. So, if you bought an S1 in India, you are eligible for an upgrade to the top end, S1 Pro model, but with “terms and conditions applied.”
For those unaware, Ola is a ride hailing service based Indian company that is quite popular in its home market. Recently, it had announced that it was entering the electric vehicle market, with its S1 electric scooters. While the company saw great response to its new vehicles and a number of orders, many early buyers began complaining after receiving the first deliveries of the S1 scooters. We had reported on customers complaining about multiple quality related issues and more.
So now, it seems that the brand is offering upgrades to its customers for free. However, it isn’t without a ‘catch’. Those that receive an S1 Pro through the upgrade will not only receive the hardware benefits. In other words, the model’s software features will be locked and standard S1 buyers will have to shell out an additional 30,000 INR (roughly 404 US Dollars) to gain access to them. In a statement, the company stated that “Customers get access to the best in class hardware at the same price as the Ola S1. 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 30,000 INR.“
From the outside, both S1 models appear identical, but the Pro variant offers a larger 3.97 kWh battery compared to the base variant’s 2.98 kWh battery. Other features include ‘Hyper mode’ that is skipped on the standard model. The S1 costs 100,000 INR (roughly 1,350 US Dollars) while the S1 Pro costs 130,000 INR (roughly 1,750 US Dollars). Notably, Ola had stated before that its bookings for the Pro model were higher than the base one, thanks to these additional features. So the free upgrade might help turn over the opinion of the early buyers who can choose to opt for the software features later on.
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