Bajaj Chetak to return almost after a decade in an electric avatar
NEWDELHI: Bajaj Auto Ltd will return to the scooter business after about a decade with an electric avatar of its Chetak brand.
The company is hoping the iconic brand will resonate with potential buyers and allow it to capture a bigger slice of the local electric scooter market.
Bajaj Auto stopped producing the Chetak brand of two-stroke scooters around 2005 and completely exited the scooter business around 2009, to focus more on the growing motorcycle segment. The decade since has seen domestic scooter sales accelerate with rapid urbanization, growing number of female riders and improved road conditions.
The fledgling electric scooter market has the presence of startups such as
Ather Energy and Okinawa Scooters. Bajaj Auto is the first traditional two-wheeler maker to venture into this segment. “When we do something, it’s better to come first and there is virtually no point coming second or third. It’s very important to be the first to market,” said Rajiv Bajaj, managing director at the unveiling of the scooter. “Scooters and step-throughs are a very important segment and we have not made the electric Chetak to be in the volume space. We are trying to build meaningful niches with three-wheelers, super bikes and electric scooters.”
The company said prices of the Chetak will be disclosed later. Bajaj said the plan is to capitalise on savings from last month’s cut in corporate tax to price the scooter at less than ₹1 lakh. In comparison, Ather sells its electric scooter Ather 450 at ₹1.23 lakh while Okinawa’s I-praise starts at ₹1.08 lakh.
Commercial sales of the electric Chetak will commence in January starting with Pune, and later in Bengaluru. Sales expansion will depend on demand in the two cities. Bajaj Auto would ensure that potential buyers of the electric Chetak can avail subsidy under the government’s second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles scheme, Bajaj said.