1 min read . 11:04 PM IST
The move is part of Bajaj’s strategy to embrace diverse charging solutions in the market and prepare for new dominant solutions that may emerge, a senior company executive said.
New Delhi
New Delhi
Bajaj Auto, one of India’s top two-wheeler makers, is working on removable and swappable battery variants of its premium electric scooter, Chetak.
Bajaj Auto, one of India’s top two-wheeler makers, is working on removable and swappable battery variants of its premium electric scooter, Chetak.
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The move is part of Bajaj’s strategy to embrace diverse charging solutions in the market and prepare for new dominant solutions that may emerge, a senior company executive said.
The company also plans to double production capacity for the scooter to 20,000 units a month by the end of this financial year, Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto said in an interview. The company is, however, awaiting clarity on whether the government will extend Fame-II incentives beyond March 2024 before it decides to ramp up production.
Bajaj Auto is also looking to expand its line-up of electric two-wheelers under the Chetak umbrella brand by launching variants across price points in the fiscal second half. It had earlier cut prices of the electric Chetak, citing positive developments on cost structures and a stabilizing supply chain.
“Our current nameplate capacity is 10,000 units a month, and we are moving towards a scenario where we will do 20,000 units – it may be possible within the year. But we want to be calibrated. We don’t want to rush in because we recognize there is a period of ambiguity here – there is a long-term uncertainty which is at a global level on technologies, lithium-ion cells, competing technologies, etc,” Sharma said. “The other is whether the Fame-II subsidy scheme will continue or will be discontinued; in the latter scenario, it will definitely have an impact and will shrink the market. It will also eliminate some of the weaker players who lack the commitment for the long haul, but at least for some time, the market will reduce, so we don’t want to be rushing in the name of bravado and see vendors, dealers working with us sink”.
Bajaj Auto also plans to open more Chetak-exclusive showrooms by September, which will mark a shift from selling out of KTM showrooms. It aims to have 150 showrooms, of which 130 will be Chetak-exclusive stores, in the next four months, Eric Vas, president, Urbanite, Bajaj Auto said. The company has asked the government for clarity on whether an extension of the Fame-II incentive scheme, originally set to expire in March 2024, is imminent.
“We expect consultative process… we are expanding our dealerships now mostly in tier-II towns. We do not want to have dealerships in secondary and tertiary towns that may become unviable after the incentives end,” Vas said.
Bajaj Auto is also working with its Austrian partner KTM, a maker of performance motorcycles, to develop a platform for electric motorcycles, which will be used to launch global products, Sharma said. However, a commercial launch of such a product is two-three years away, he added.
Registrations of the Chetak electric scooter fell 12% to just over 4,000 units in April on a monthly basis, data from the government’s VAHAN dashboard showed.
“We are in a situation where we will sell everything we can produce. Our job is to stabilize the supply chain and get it in proper shape for us. Our nameplate capacity is around 10,000 – but our vendors need to ramp up to that as well. Our current experience is when we made the transition to the new battery rules which came into force from April 1, we found we were not unable to produce as much as we were earlier. So to restabilize the line and get back to those values is going to take us time. The phase-II norms, however, have already been engineered for us”, Vas said.
