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Bajaj Chetak Electric Scooter Takes The Fight To Ather 450 With Rs 1 Lakh Price Tag

The electric two-wheeler can be booked online for Rs 2,000, with initial deliveries restricted to Bengaluru and Pune.

Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj, right, and Executive Director Rakesh Sharma at the launch of the Bajaj Chetal electric scooter in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Jan 14., 2020. (Photo: Bajaj Auto)
Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj, right, and Executive Director Rakesh Sharma at the launch of the Bajaj Chetal electric scooter in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Jan 14., 2020. (Photo: Bajaj Auto)

Bajaj Auto Ltd. will sell the Chetak electric scooter at a price tag of Rs 1 lakh as it takes on Hero MotoCorp Ltd.-backed Ather Energy.

The company, which unveiled the battery-powered version of the iconic brand on Oct. 16, 2019, will sell the Urbane variant with drum brakes at Rs 1 lakh and the Premium variant with disk brakes at Rs 1.15 lakh, according to a company statement. Online bookings for the Chetak are now open at Rs 2,000, with deliveries expected to start from February-end.

The Bajaj Chetak joins nearly a dozen of electric scooter brands looking to capture the demand for battery-powered scooters. The sales of battery-powered scooters more than doubled over the previous year to 1.26 lakh units in the year ended March, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles.

At Rs 1 lakh price and range of 95+ km, the Chetak will directly compete with Ather 450 that starts at Rs 1.13 lakh.

The Ather 450, made by Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy. (Photo: Ather Energy)
The Ather 450, made by Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy. (Photo: Ather Energy)

Bajaj Auto will roll out the new scooter in a phased manner, with sales beginning from Bengaluru—home to Ather Energy—and Pune.

Also Read: Bajaj Plans KTM, Husqvarna EV Scooters On New Chetak Platform

Bajaj Auto entered the electric vehicle market when India, home to seven of the world’s 10 most polluted cities, targets to turn 30 percent vehicles electric by 2030 to reduce pollution and cut its oil import bill.