Scooters And One Wheels

Bajaj Chetak electrical scooters Chennai and Hyderabad launch quickly

Image – Nitish Neo

Bajaj Chetak electric scooter recently received a price increase of up to Rs 28,000 – bookings are currently closed

The Bajaj Chetak electric scooter launched in January 2020 entered the electric two-wheeler segment with great enthusiasm. It managed to collect bookings of 2,000 units, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and sales fell. By March 2021, sales of Chetak scooters were around 1,400 units.

Chetak’s next two new cities

This is only from two cities – Pune and Bangalore. Bajaj has not launched Chetak in any other city so far. They had plans to launch Chetak in multiple cities by the end of 2020, but that plan has been delayed due to Covid19.

As of this writing, Bajaj Auto only sells this e-scooter through its 13 dealers in the cities of Pune and Bengaluru. Bajaj Auto just announced the next two cities that will get their state-of-the-art electric scooter. These are Chennai and Hyderabad. Both cities are expected to receive the chetak in the next few days. The exact timeline has not yet been announced.

Bajaj Chetak Electric Expansion Plans

Chetak price increase

Bajaj Chetak is presented in two variants, Urbane and Premium. At the time of launch in January 2020 these were Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 1,15,000 respectively. After the recent price hike in April 2021, these variants are now at Rs 1,42,620 and Rs 1,44,620. All prices are ex-sh.

Both variants are powered by the same drive train, the main difference being a drum brake in urban areas. The company has also announced future plans to make the Chetak a global brand. The first step was taken to patent Chetak’s electrical design for European markets.

The Bajaj Chetak e-scooter is driven by an electric motor which, together with a 3 kWh lithium-ion battery, generates a continuous / peak power of 3.8 kW / 4.1 kW. It promises a range of 95 km in eco mode and 85 km in sport mode. The battery is guaranteed for 3 years / 50,000 km.

Software update

Bajaj recently announced a software upgrade, the first for the e-scooter since launch. With this software update, the Chetak will be shown with a more accurate range indicator. The company has contacted the owners to send in the chetak for the software update, which must be performed by a technician at the company’s authorized service center.

A diagnostic tool is required for the software upgrade. A connector connects this tool to the e-scooter, which is located near the right-hand side of the passenger footrest. Installation takes only 10 minutes but takes more than 24 hours.

The steps to follow for the software upgrade include fully 100 percent SoC charge of the vehicle battery. The e-scooter then has to be driven up to 15 percent SoC, after which it has to rest for 12 hours and then the battery should be recharged up to 100 percent SoC and driven again up to 15 percent SoC. This is followed by another 12-hour break and charging of up to 100 percent SoC to complete the software upgrade.

After the process is complete, the Chetak e-scooter notes two changes. First, the accuracy in reading the area is improved. The fluctuations in the actual and displayed idle distance are reduced, especially when driving downhill. This gives the driver an accurate estimate of the remaining charge. The range is also expanded. During the test, the Bajaj Chetak was able to cover a distance of 94 km with the software update with a charge of 94 percent, while the remaining charge of 6 percent enabled the driver to drive up to 100 km.

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