Indian EV group Ola acquires high-tech Dutch electric scooter company Etergo

The Dutch electric scooter company Etergo spent much of the last year shopping itself around for new funding options. Now we’ve learned that Indian EV company Ola Electric Mobility has acquired Etergo.

Ola acquires Etergo

Etergo had been valued at as much as $90 million after its last funding round, but was apparently sold at a loss to Ola, according to Etergo’s CEO Bart Jacobsz Rosier.

The final purchase price hasn’t been disclosed, as Rosier explained to CleanTechnica:

I am not allowed to disclose the exact purchasing price, but it was at a significant loss and we felt that we needed to give away all of our entitlement from the purchasing price to all the investors, including all the crowdfunders.

Ola originally began as a ride-hailing service before spinning off its current operations in the EV industry as Ola Electric Mobility in 2019.

The company has already been working on its own electric scooter, but will now have access to Etergo’s advanced technology, which Rosier says will be combined with Ola’s current electric scooter developments.

What will happen to Etergo’s AppScooter?

At this point, it isn’t clear if Ola will continue to develop the AppScooter along with its current offerings, or whether it will simply incorporate key elements of the AppScooter in its own designs.

Etergo’s main advancements included the large and easily navigable display on the scooter, as well as the unique curved batteries that fit under the floorboard of the scooter.

The curved batteries could be accessed from the cargo hatch under the seat, but didn’t cut into the available cargo space like most other electric scooters.

The AppScooter had a claimed nearly 150 miles (241 km) of range from three of these banana-shaped batteries, one of the largest ranges of any electric scooter.

Etergo had already begun taking pre-orders for the AppScooter in Europe, and now it is unclear if pre-order holders will receive their scooters.