BAJAJ's ICONIC CHETAK MAKES A COMEBACK IN ELECTRIC AVATAR

Iconic scooter brand of yesteryears, Chetak is making a comeback in an electric avatar with Bajaj Auto announcing that it will sell electric scooters under the label as a premium offering.

The company, which had vehemently opposed a proposal of Niti Aayog to go for 100% electric vehicles (EVs) for three-wheelers by 2023 and two-wheelers with an engine capacity less than 150 cc by

2025, said its entry into the EV space is to get the first mover advantage in the segment.

Bajaj Auto said it plans to start selling escooter Chetak from January onwards in Pune and then move to Bengaluru and after gauging the response, expand operations to other locations.

While unveiling the Chetak e-scooter the company did not disclose the price but said it would not be more than Rs 1.5 lakh. The vehicle gives a driving range of 95 km on eco mode and 85 km on sports mode on a single charge of around 5 hours.

The e-scooter was unveiled by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in presence of Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj. Bajaj cited Alibaba Chief Jack Ma's remarks of not waiting for the environment and the policies to be ready because "when everything is ready there is no opportunity for you".

"If you are not the first to the market, at worst second to the market, you lose the market further. It is with this attitude that we decided to move into our 'kal' with our electric vehicle," he said.