Nagpur becomes the 3rd city in India to get Bajaj Chetak Electric Scooter – After Pune and Bangalore
Bajaj Chetak electric scooter, launched in India more than 1.5 years ago, has been closed for bookings for most of the time. The retro classic electric scooter came in with much fanfare in Jan 2020. It was an immediate hit, receiving over 50,000 expression of interest and huge booking orders in first few weeks.
Then came Covid-19 induced lockdown in March 2020. Production got affected as supply chain was down. Parts were not available. These issues resulted in Bajaj closing booking. Priority was to deliver the electric scooter to those who had already booked.
Bajaj Chetak Electric Scoter – New Cities
Until now, Bajaj Chetak was only on sale in Pune and Bangalore. Bajaj had plans to launch the scooter in many cities by end 2020, but Covid-19 has caused the delay. With life slowly getting back on track, or the world learns to survive with Covid-19, automakers are starting to execute their plans which were paused due to the pandemic.
Bajaj Chetak has announced the launch of Chetak electric scooter in Nagpur. The launch event took in the presence of Hon. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. He unveiled the Chetak Electric at KTM Khamla Square, Nagpur. Interestingly, it was Nitin Gadkari who unveiled the Chetak back in Jan 2020 in Delhi.
The Bajaj Chetak, offered in Urbane and Premium variants was priced at Rs.1 lakh and Rs.1.15 lakhs respectively. But recently, its prices were hiked and is now available at a price of about Rs 1.43 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh respectively.
The company is confident that despite a rather significant increase in price, demand will in no way be affected as the Chetak appeals to a more affluent segment of first time two wheeler buyers in the country. Bajaj will launch Chetak next in Aurangabad, Mysore, Mangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. By March 2022, the company plans to have its presence in 30 cities across India.
Bajaj New Chakan Plant
Bajaj is planning a new production facility in Chakan, near Pune. It is from here that the company plans to produce premium range of motorcycles from brands like KTM, Husqvarna and Triumph, as well as the Bajaj Chetak e-scooter. The company has signed an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra to set up this new facility into which the company will make investments of Rs. 650 crores.
As per the terms of the agreement, the Government of Maharashtra will assist the bikemaker in procuring permissions, registrations, approvals, clearances, fiscal incentives, etc, from the concerned departments. It is from this new plant that KTM AG also plans to develop an electric scooter on the Chetak platform.