Bajaj Chetak is available in two variants of Premium and Urbane – Prices have been hiked, now start from Rs 1.42 lakh
Bajaj Auto Limited had introduced the new Chetak electric scooter in January 2020. This not only brought back the much loved Chetak brand but also marked the foray of the company into the electric two wheeler space.
Since the time of launch, plans to make Chetak available in more cities have faced multiple hurdles. First, it was the Covid19 induced lockdown and later, it was the shortage of parts. While lockdown issue is no longer there, but production is still on a limited basis, thanks to shortage of parts.
Chetak Bookings Open & Close
For most part of the year, since the launch of Chetak, it has not been on sale. The company has not been accepting bookings of their electric scooter as they do not want to amass huge booking numbers and make customers wait. Instead, they open the bookings for the next batch, as and when the existing batch of customers get delivery.
For the next batch, Bajaj opened bookings of Chetak electric scooter on 13th April 2021. Today, on 15th April, 2021 Bajaj has announced that they have closed the bookings. In a matter of just 2 days, the entire batch of Chetak electric scooters got sold out.
Bajaj has not revealed the number of scooters got booked in this batch. This is what Bajaj said in a media statement, “A large number of confirmed orders were placed by customers requiring the Company to cease acceptance of bookings within 48 hours. The Company will review the supply situation and announce the next round of booking opportunity.”
Mr. Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director at Bajaj Auto Ltd., said, “We are absolutely delighted to see the fabulous response to the re-opening of bookings for the Chetak electric scooter in Pune and Bengaluru. Covid-led disruptions last year resulted in an unintended and long waiting period but despite that we have seen very few cancellations of bookings.
We thank our customers in Pune and Bengaluru for their patience and now this overwhelming response. We are conscious that customers would like to receive early deliveries of Chetak and start enjoying it as soon as possible, hence we have had to take the difficult decision of closing the bookings in view of continuing supply chain uncertainties. However, it is our endeavor to resolve the supply chain issues at the earliest, re-open bookings as well as roll into more cities within the next quarter.”
Bajaj Auto Expansion Plans
The Bajaj Chetak is only open for sale in Pune and Bengaluru while the company now plans to open bookings in more cities as they expand their electric scooter networks. Plans are to introduce the Chetak e-scooter to 30 new cities in FY2022. The company expects that production issues will be sorted over the next couple of months. The company had earlier set a target of selling 500 units per month but sales have been around 300 units per month.
3 kWh Li-ion battery
Bajaj Chetak is powered by a 3 kWh Li-Ion battery with a 3.8 kW electric motor. Power is rated at 5.5 hp with the e-scooter capable of delivering a range of 95 km while in Eco Mode and 85 km in Sport Mode. Charging is achieved upto 100 percent in 5 hours via a 5 Amp outlet and the bike maker offers a 3 year/50,000km warranty on the battery.
Bajaj Chetak receives all LED head and tail lamps, LED DRLs and LED turn indicators. It also sports a digital instrument cluster with smartphone connectivity and Bluetooth, regenerative braking and 12 inch alloy wheels fitted with tubeless tyres measuring 90/90 at the front and a 90/100 at the rear. The bike receives reverse gear for tackling tight parking spots. Chetak rivals TVS iQube and Ather 450X.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
