Bajaj Auto introduced the much-awaited Chetak in January this year in Pune and Bengaluru. The expansion plans of the electric scooter in other cities have now been delayed by several months.
The Chetak electric scooter isn’t 100% localised. The two-wheeler giant Bajaj Auto sources components from Wuhan, China. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a disruption in the supply of these components which has impacted the production of the electric scooter. Also, Bajaj Auto had shut down its factories in India as the nation was put under lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. While the company has resumed manufacturing in a phased manner after the Indian Govt. gave certain relaxation in the lockdown, the Chetak is yet to hit the production line again.
Once the production of the Chetak electric scooter resumes, Bajaj Auto will first fulfil the pending customer orders in Pune and Bengaluru. It will also analyse the customer feedback about the electric two-wheeler and study other factors such as the charging ecosystem, subsidy, etc. Once these targets are accomplished, the company will then shift its focus on expanding Chetak’s presence in other cities which could get delayed by 4-5 months.
Soon after launching the Chetak here in India, Bajaj Auto filed a design patent for the electric scooter with the European Union Intellectual Property Office on 28 February 2020. The application has been approved and is valid until 28 February 2025.
Also Read: Chetak electric scooter deliveries delayed, to resume in Q3 2020 now
The Chetak has received a good initial response in the domestic market. Bajaj Auto gathered around 2,000 bookings for the electric scooter in just 15 days after commencing its booking on 15 January 2020. However, the company isn’t accepting any new bookings at the moment.
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