Ola Electric Introduces Ola Maps With Upgraded EV Software Move OS 4

Ola Electric commercially launched its in-house Ola Maps with the mass roll-out of the Move OS 4 software platform for its electric two-wheelers on Thursday (January 18).

Move OS 4 is the latest version of Ola Electric’s software platform for its escooters. The electric two-wheeler startup said that MoveOS 4 has taken navigation to a whole new level with Ola Maps. 

The upgraded software enables a faster and more accurate search function with improved routing. The redesigned user interface allows riders to access essential features seamlessly without leaving the navigation screen, claimed Ola Electric. 

“Additionally, Ola Maps empowers users to designate favourite locations for a highly personalised navigation experience. Users can also push locations from their phone to scooter through bluetooth and can even locate their scooter from the Ola Electric app,” the company added.

The announcement on the commercial use of Ola Maps for the first time on Ola EVs comes a year after Ola said that it was developing a dedicated maps system for its vehicles and apps and would launch the system soon.

“Testing our own Ola maps! Will be live in the Ola app and our vehicles in a couple of months!” Ola boss Bhavish Aggarwal said in January last year.

Announcing the roll out of MoveOS 4 today, Ola Electric said that having an in-house navigation system would enable the EV major to constantly improve on the mapping and navigation experience, which would also be based on feedback from its EV users.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric also said that with MoveOS 4, the Ola S1 Gen 1 scooter portfolio, S1 Pro (2nd Generation), and S1 Air will get a total of more than 100 features and improvements. S1 X+ will get the upgrade in the coming months. 

Besides Ola Maps, the upgraded software version also comes with improvements to ‘Hill Descent Control’ and the introduction of ‘Cruise Control in eco-mode’, the company said.

Its AI-based ‘Indicator Control’ turns off indicators automatically, which minimises manual commands, claimed Ola Electric.

Ola Electric has made multiple upgrades to its software over the last two years. However, the startup has also faced a lot of criticism for various safety-related issues with its vehicles as well as poor after-sales service.

The startup was also embroiled in the FAME-II controversy. It was accused of keeping its EV prices under the INR 1.5 Lakh cap to avail subsidies under the scheme while allegedly charging customers separately for chargers and proprietary software as accessories. Subsequently, the startup was asked to refund around INR 130 Cr to its customers.

Despite these controversies, Ola Electric was the leading two-wheeler EV player in terms of sales in 2023. The IPO-bound startup sold more than 2.6 Lakh EVs last year. 

Ola Electric filed its DRHP with SEBI last month for an over INR 5,500 Cr IPO.

Recently, the startup also became the first Indian two-wheeler manufacturer to receive the domestic value addition (DVA) certificate under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for automobile and auto components. 

However, it continues to be a loss-making entity and reported a net loss of INR 268 Cr in Q1 FY24. Its net loss jumped 88% year-on-year to INR 1,471.6 Cr in FY23.