Bajaj Auto Limited has revived the Chetak brand for its scooters, but this time it’s electric. The Bajaj Chetak is back as an electric scooter, available in two variants. Prices start at Rs 1,00,000 for the drum brake Urbane variant and Rs 1,15,000 for the disc brake Premium model. It can be booked for just Rs 2,000 from January 15 in the cities of Bengaluru and Pune.
The scooter sports a retro design, similar to the lines of the original Bajaj Chetak, which had been in production since 1972 and was discontinued in 2005. It had a two-stroke internal combustion engine till 2002, after which it used a four-stroke.
The new Bajaj Chetak can go about 95 km on a single charge. It has a 4kW electric motor which puts out about 16 Nm of torque.
It has a 3kWh lithium-ion battery pack that is IP-67 rated and can be charged in five hours with a household socket. It comes with a three-year, 50,000 Km warranty.
The Chetak is now quite modern with a digital instrument console and LED lights. It also features an app that pairs with the scooter through an e-SIM and keeps the rider informed about its whereabouts and charge status. Buyers will get a one-year data subscription free with the scooter.
It comes with alloy wheels and tubeless tyres too. It has two riding modes - Eco, which claims a range of over 95+ Km on a single charge and Sport, which gives about 85 Km of range. It has a kick-down mode for an instant burst of acceleration when overtaking.
Bajaj Chetak vs Ather 450 vs Okinawa iPraise
How does the Bajaj Chetak stack up against the competition? You already have scooters from Okinawa and Ather Energy which compete in the same market as the Bajaj Chetak.
The Ather 450 has a slightly more powerful 5.4kW electric motor that puts out 20.5 Nm of peak torque. It has a 2.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack that can take it 75 Km on a single charge. It has a top speed of 80 kmph, similar to the Chetak. The Ather 450 is priced at Rs 1.12 lakh (after subsidies).
There’s also the Okinawa iPraise that is priced at Rs 1.15 lakh in Delhi (and also available across many other cities). It has a range of 160 Km on a single charge of its 2.9kWh dual battery pack that can be removed and charged. It takes about 3 hours for a full charge. Top speed is about 75 Kmph.
Bajaj expects the Chetak will sell on its brand value, but being electric it will remain a niche product for now.
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