Chetak, a flagship scooter of the Baja Auto, is all set to make a come back in a new avatar of electric vehicle segment. India’s second largest motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj Auto, on Wednesday, unveiled the all new electric scooter- Chetak. The price however, was not revealed by the auto maker giant, cited Mint.
The development from Bajaj comes amid the festive season of Deepwali and after a decade when in 2009 the company aimed its focus on manufacturing motorcycles.
Rajiv Bajaj, managing director at Bajaj Auto, said that there is immense potential for scooters and three-wheelers in the electric space.
“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 first to market. Scooters and step-through are a very important segment and we have not made the electric Chetak to be in the volume space. We are trying build meaningful niches with three wheelers, super bikes and electric scooters,” added Bajaj.
Chetak electric will hit the roads in January, first in Pune and later to Bengaluru. The new Chetak will be available in two variants and offer a range of 85 kilometre and 95 kilometre.
“Biggest hurdle (for adoption of electric mobility) is the conflicting idea in minds of manufacturers since they are making money from petrol and diesel vehicles. The fact that Bajaj doesn’t sell scooters is our bigger strength. We are starting from here because there is not conflict of interest. When you enter into a new market you don’t make money from day one. The price will not be viable from day one,” added Bajaj.