HOW OMOTION WAS FOUNDED

Every company starts somewhere. For OMotion, it started not in a boardroom, but in a childhood filled with dismantled electronics, homemade machines, and a deep fascination with how motion works. This is the story of Ola Svensson, and how a lifelong curiosity became the foundation for a new approach to electric vehicles.

Ola Svensson, born in 1980, grew up in Lund and attended Polhemskolan for his upper secondary education. Even at a young age, his love for technology was already germinating. You would often find him making his own circuit boards, taking things apart, and building them back up again simply to understand how they worked. He spent hours borrowing and reading books about building microcomputers, purely driven by curiosity.

Ola was particularly interested in magnetism. There was something almost mystical about the invisible force. At the age of 14, Ola independently managed to design a magnetic bearing that minimized losses in the transfer of rotational motion (this was the time before the internet). Over time, what began as curiosity about how things worked slowly evolved into a deeper fascination with how things moved.

It was only natural that this growing understanding of mechanics would eventually find its way into something more personal: vehicles. Ola’s interest in motion first took form through a go-kart. What started as simple driving quickly became another opportunity to understand handling, control, and movement in a real, physical way. With the go-kart, Ola’s interest in vehicles deepened further. He bought a motorcycle and, true to his way of learning, disassembled it completely down to its smallest components. Piece by piece, he rebuilt it again, using the process to understand not just how the motorcycle functioned, but how motion, force, and mechanical systems worked together in real conditions. It was not only about riding, it was about understanding every part that made movement possible. In no time, Ola was able to complete an electric conversion of the motorcycle. This conversion marked the point where electronics, mechanics, and motion finally intersected. What that led to was curiosity, not yet a plan but the direction was beginning to take shape.

During this period, Ola was not focused on engineering alone. From 2000 to 2004, he studied for a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, while at the same time playing football at a semi-professional level. Balancing demanding studies with competitive sport required structure, commitment, and persistence. Football became more than a parallel interest: it shaped how he approached challenges, setbacks and long term goals.

After completing his masters, Ola began working with software development in the telecommunications industry at Ericsson in Lund. The role introduced him to large-scale systems, structured project management, and the discipline required to deliver complex technical solutions within global organizations.

At Ericsson, he gained valuable experience working with connected devices and large technical infrastructures. This exposure would later become highly relevant, as connectivity became an essential part of modern electric vehicles. But while the corporate environment offered structure and stability, the desire to build something of his own never fully disappeared.

Over time, a question began to form: the current trend was that vehicles were becoming heavier and more complex, could they instead become lighter, minimalistic, and more efficient? The seeds of OMotion were beginning to take shape.

In 2013, after years of experimentation, reflection, and growing conviction, Ola made the decision to turn vision into action. OMotion was founded not as a sudden business idea, but as the natural culmination of a lifelong pattern questioning established solutions and building better alternatives. His ambition was clear: to create lightweight electric vehicles that challenged the prevailing trend toward heavier, increasingly complex machines. For Ola, true sustainability meant more than electrification. It meant reducing unnecessary components, minimizing weight, and designing vehicles where efficiency and driving experience could coexist. To bring this vision to life, he brought together a small but focused team. Philip Jönsson, a newly graduated engineer, joined early on, along with student Joakim Andersson. Together, they began shaping the first vehicle project translating ideas that had once existed in workshops and personal experiments into a tangible product.

Even the company’s name carries personal significance, created during a child free mini vacation with his wife Helena. “OMotion” emerged from a simple but meaningful combination: Ola and motion. It reflected both identity and direction, a constant movement forward.

Alongside his professional journey, Ola’s personal life remained an important source of balance. Since 2012, he has been married to Helena Svensson Mjöbo, and together they have two sons. Family life provides perspective beyond engineering and entrepreneurship, grounding his ambitions in responsibility and long term thinking. OMotion was not built overnight, nor was it born from a sudden business idea. It was the natural progression of a lifelong curiosity, a steady path shaped by experimentation, discipline, and a desire to rethink how vehicles could be designed.