Bajaj Chetak Electric Scooter Unveiled; Deliveries To Commence From January 2020

[bssunilreddy]

Bajaj Chetak Electric Scooter Unveiled; Deliveries To Commence From January 2020

The all-new Bajaj Chetak electric scooter will be launched in January 2020, in phase manner, starting with Pune, and Bengaluru. The scooter will have a in-city range of 100 km and is expected to be priced under Rs. 1.5 lakh.

Bajaj Auto today unveiled its first electric scooter for the Indian market, under its new electric vehicle division, Urbanite. Christened the Bajaj Chetak, after the company's iconic scooter, the new electric two-wheeler will be manufactured at the manufacturer's Chakan plant. Bajaj has announced that deliveries for the new Chetak electric scooter will commence from January 2020, starting with Pune, followed by Bengaluru, gradually moving across India. It will be the first to many electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers to be introduced under the Urbanite brand.

While prices have not been announced yet, the new electric scooter is expected to be priced under ₹ 1.5 lakh (ex-showroom). The new Bajaj Chetak electric scooter will come under the company's Pro-Biking network, which includes the KTM brand, and distribution will be broadened depending on the response to the ecosystem. 500 KTM dealers across India will cater to the new upcoming Bajaj Chetak electric scooter.

The new Bajaj Chetak is powered by an IP67 rated high-tech Lithium-Ion battery with NCA cells, which can be charged using a standard 5-15 amp electrical outlet, and it will offer an in-city range of up to 100 km. Detailed specifications haven't been revealed yet, however, the Chetak will come with an Intelligent Battery Management System that controls the charge and discharge seamlessly. The electric scooter comes with 2 driving modes - Eco and Sport, along with a reverse assist mode for more convenience. The scooter also gets regenerative braking, which converts braking heat into kinetic energy to maximise range. The Chetak will also be a fully-connected and will be embedded with mobility solution like data communication, security and user authentication.

Visually, the scooter comes with a retro-style design with smooth lines and curvy profile. The vehicle only comes with Chetak badging on the front apron and the rear between the taillights. The Chetak also comes with good fit and finish which is extenuated by premium details like chrome bezel for the headlamp with an LED daytime running lamp ring and LED headlamp. The scooter is also claimed to get feather touch-activated electronic switches, sequential scrolling LED. The scooter also comes with a single-piece seat, larger silver grab rails, and multispoke alloy wheels. Bajaj will offer the Chetak electric scooter in 6 colours.

Post its launch in India in 2020, the company also plans to export the Bajaj Chetak electric scooter to relevant markets in Europe.

Source:Bajaj Chetak Electric Scooter Unveiled; Deliveries To Commence From January 2020 - CarandBike

 

[Flash]

₹ 1.5 lakh..

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Only 100 km range?
Why do two wheeler manufacturers make electric scooters and not electric bikes? Imagine the entire fuel tank, engine and exhaust assembly replaced with huge capacity batteries.

 

[Desmond]

Only 100 km range?
Why do two wheeler manufacturers make electric scooters and not electric bikes? Imagine the entire fuel tank, engine and exhaust assembly replaced with huge capacity batteries.

Because expensive to manufacture?

 

[whitestar_999]

Imagine the entire fuel tank, engine and exhaust assembly replaced with huge capacity batteries.

I am not an automobile engineer but my guess is,this is not possible with safety regulations & existing engineering design capabilities(plus it has to be economically viable too which I also doubt).

 

[omega44-xt]

Batteries are pretty expensive & heavy. They use a cuboid-shaped battery.

In cars, Tesla vehicles are heavier than its petrol competition, so some say its higher safety is partly due to that. Not everyone likes a pretty heavy 2 wheeler, it needs to be easy to maneuver.

 

[billubakra]

Only 100 km range?
Why do two wheeler manufacturers make electric scooters and not electric bikes? Imagine the entire fuel tank, engine and exhaust assembly replaced with huge capacity batteries.

Revolt bikes have a pretty bad range too.

Batteries are pretty expensive & heavy. They use a cuboid-shaped battery.
In cars, Tesla vehicles are heavier than its petrol competition, so some say its higher safety is partly due to that. Not everyone likes a pretty heavy 2 wheeler, it needs to be easy to maneuver.

Tesla's are as smooth as butter when it comes to maneuverability. Its safety has nothing to do with batteries just next level engineering. They are getting 5 star safety ratings everywhere. The Model X is next to impossible to roll over.

 

[omega44-xt]

Revolt bikes have a pretty bad range too.



Tesla's are as smooth as butter when it comes to maneuverability. Its safety has nothing to do with batteries just next level engineering. They are getting 5 star safety ratings everywhere. The Model X is next to impossible to roll over.

All cars try to have a low center of gravity. Having battery pack under the chassis helps lowering the cog a lot, which helps with maneuverability & lowers chances of roll over. As I said, batteries are pretty heavy.

Weight helps with crashes as it will have higher momentum (mass*velocity), say it crashes with another car, its likely that the other car is lighter & will be pushed back. The empty frunk helps as well. Teslas are definitely built pretty well, but weight & low cog helps it appreciably as well.

Tesla and NHTSA Spar Over Tesla Safety Claims; They're Both Right
Are Small Cars Safe? | Edmunds

2019 Audi A4 weighs 1645kg Mercedes C300 weighing 1600kg vs Model 3 weighing 1611-1847kg. From what I know, usually top end models are tested. All 3 of them are priced similarly.

 

[thetechfreak]

Only 100 km range?

Enough for city range for daily commute for most. Suspect people will adopt it in troves.

 

[bssunilreddy]

Enough for city range for daily commute for most. Suspect people will adopt it in troves.

Suspect people means?
Old and senior citizens might adopt it.
Teens wont because they wont have time recharging and such.

I once saw a car having hydrogen fuel cells but it was volatile so that kick starter did not end successfully.

 

[icebags]

Suspect people means?
Old and senior citizens might adopt it.
Teens wont because they wont have time recharging and such.

I once saw a car having hydrogen fuel cells but it was volatile so that kick starter did not end successfully.

ofcourse. electric cars have been with us for a long time already. there just have not been such requirement to push them like these days. thanks to rising fuel price & dying environment, we are looking into these options now.

for your enjoyment:

and we are still waiting cheaper battery technologies to come up. lead acid is old, lithium prices may soo rival the petrol prices. and at this point we need some interesting battery techs like iron-ion or carbon nanotech batteries to come up with some practical commercial solution.
hydrogen fuel cell is kinda dead tech, wastes too much energy and may not be cost effective.

 

[Vyom]

I was eagerly awaiting a new model of an electric scooter to buy for my dad. But alas the price makes me want to crawl back to the delusion that Petrol is better. For now.

 

[omega44-xt]

I was eagerly awaiting a new model of an electric scooter to buy for my dad. But alas the price makes me want to crawl back to the delusion that Petrol is better. For now.

Don't buy EVs right now, needs to get better & affordable before it becomes viable.

Estimates put 2040 as deadline when current oil fields might get empty, so buy a petrol scooter. W/o fast charging & its infrastructure EVs are poor choice. Hopefully things will be different in next 2-3 years.

 

[Vyom]

Yes. But the thing is, if we don't adopt them, we are part of the problem, rather than being a part of the solution, which is to lead electric vehicles to mass adoption.
Anyway, with this pricing, middle class family can't think of adoption anyway. Can we?

 

[whitestar_999]

Yes. But the thing is, if we don't adopt them, we are part of the problem, rather than being a part of the solution, which is to lead electric vehicles to mass adoption.
Anyway, with this pricing, middle class family can't think of adoption anyway. Can we?

Try some other ways to reduce your carbon footprint.e.g.take metro instead of personal vehicle whenever possible,turn off ac/run at 25C in summer,avoid wasting water for purposes like vehicle washing/spraying water in front of house(seen many doing this in summer) etc.

 

[omega44-xt]

Yes. But the thing is, if we don't adopt them, we are part of the problem, rather than being a part of the solution, which is to lead electric vehicles to mass adoption.
Anyway, with this pricing, middle class family can't think of adoption anyway. Can we?

India's per capita CO2 emissions is lower than developed countries, worst is middle east countries. If we see India as a whole, due to population the picture looks bad. Surely India needs to take steps.

For now, for middle class it is too inconvenient, not to forget expensive. Only electric 3 wheelers & 2 wheelers after 2023 & 2025 respectively are good moves by the government.

 

[bssunilreddy]

India's per capita CO2 emissions is lower than developed countries, worst is middle east countries. If we see India as a whole, due to population the picture looks bad. Surely India needs to take steps.

For now, for middle class it is too inconvenient, not to forget expensive. Only electric 3 wheelers & 2 wheelers after 2023 & 2025 respectively are good moves by the government.

By then advancements will come and this as pilot project we can analyse how we can do it at that time.

Like this:*sciencetrends.com/will-graphene-battery-power-tomorrows-tesla-car/

 

[sling-shot]

I read that the battery pack is not removable in this scooter.

Revolt (

) definitely has it tied up with 3 options to refuel - charge at home, charge at stations, exchange batteries.

 

[icebags]

I read that the battery pack is not removable in this scooter.

Revolt (

) definitely has it tied up with 3 options to refuel - charge at home, charge at stations, exchange batteries.

umm no it's perfectly removable. it's also recommended that you install solar panel in your outside your balcony/ barandah and charge those batteries from them whenever possible. also try to drive in economy mode for more mileage. it runs at around 45kmph at that mode and gives around 160kms at full charge.

 

[sling-shot]

Alright then. The articles I read seem to indicate Chetak had non-removable batteries.