In what will be the biggest update for the Bajaj Chetak, which was first launched in January 2020, the next-gen models will have a new chassis and more storage space.
05 Dec 2024 | 8419 Views | By Rishaad Mody, Autocar India
Bajaj Auto, which continues to see strong demand for its Chetak electric scooter and has clocked retail sales of 174,909 units in January-November 2024, up 184% year on year, is about to launch the biggest update for the Chetak yet, in the third week of December.
The strategy ...
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Bajaj Auto, which continues to see strong demand for its Chetak electric scooter and has clocked retail sales of 174,909 units in January-November 2024, up 184% year on year, is about to launch the biggest update for the Chetak yet, in the third week of December.
The strategy behind this update is to improve the Chetak’s practicality. Rivals like the Ather Rizta, Ola S1 and TVS iQube all offer much bigger space and Bajaj Auto has been working on matching them. To do so, the company has designed a new chassis that moves the battery pack under the floorboard, which will liberate more boot space.
The move to a new battery pack design may also increase the capacity and, thereby, result in a longer range. However, if this does happen, we don’t expect this to be a big increase. For reference, the Bajaj Chetak currently offers a claimed IDC range of between 123 and 137km of range, depending on the model.
Other aspects of the scooter are likely to remain constant, including the design. Bajaj Auto has found widespread acceptance of the Chetak’s design from customers of all age groups and it will not tinker with this formula. There are likely to be new colour schemes, but that is likely to be the extent of the visual changes.
The new-generation Bajaj Chetak electric scooter is to be launched on December 20. Prices are likely to stay close to the current model which ranges between Rs 96,000 and Rs 1.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
On the wholesales front, TVS iQube leads the Bajaj Chetak by 10,215 units in the first seven months of FY2025.
Bajaj Chetak hard on TVS iQube’s heels
Bajaj Auto which, like TVS Motor Co, entered the e-two-wheeler market in January 2020, is hard on its ICE legacy rival’s heels. Both legacy OEMs, which has diversified into e-mobility, are engaged in a fierce battle. In CY2023, TVS had sold a total of 166,581 iQubes – 94,641 units more than Bajaj Auto’s 71,940 Chetaks. That huge gap is now stands sizeably reduced in the first 11 months of the current calendar year – to 27,994 units. In November 2024, the difference between TVS iQube and Bajaj Chetak sales was only 808 units.
Like TVS, Bajaj too also dispatched a record 30,644 Chetaks to its dealers in October, ensuring that customer deliveries were smooth in November. The move seems to have paid off, given that 26,163 Chetaks were retailed last month, up 121% YoY. While November 2024 sales are down 8% month-on-month on festive October’s record 28,352 units, the fact is that since January’s 10,891 units, Bajaj Auto has more than doubled its monthly sales 10 months down the year.
While TVS has registered retail sales of 202,903 iQubes in the January-November 2024 period for a 19% market share, Bajaj Auto has clocked retails of 174,909 Chetaks which gives it a 16% market share – a big jump from the 4% it had in January-November 2023.
(Additional inputs by Ajit Dalvi)
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