Bajaj will launch an electrified two- and three-wheeler in the coming months; the zero-emission scooter could be launched under Urbanite brand
Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj, confirmed last Friday that his brand will launch its first electric two-wheeler soon in the Indian market. He further stated that Bajaj will continue to concentrate on two-wheelers of all fuel types. The Chakan-based manufacturer said to have sold 2 per cent more vehicles in the first quarter of FY2020.
With 1.25 million two-wheelers retailed in domestic and export markets combined, Bajaj Auto registered a consolidated net profit of Rs. 1,012 crore on a revenue of Rs. 7,756 crore. This comes at a time when the two-wheeler industry is facing huge sales slump up and down the price range as all the big brands are struggling to find a momentum over the last six months.
While admitting that the auto sector is going on a rough patch lately, Rajiv Bajaj hopes to come out of it stronger. Rajiv Bajaj believes that the central government is on a perplexed state on devising plans regarding electric mobility. It is related to the Indian authorities’ controversial move of making all two-wheelers electric by 2025 and all three-wheelers electric by 2023.
The electric version of Qute and a zero-emission three-wheeler (spied recently) also appear to be in the pipeline before the end of this financial year. Bajaj could debut its standalone Urbanite sub-brand for selling EVs in India and spy shots of the first scooter had surfaced on the interweb a couple of months ago.
The front section of the possible Urbanite electric scooter stands in line with the leaked images and it fuelled the speculations of the return of the Chetak nameplate under the Urbanite banner with an electrified powertrain. It boasted retro attitude with a pentagon-shaped headlamp and a curvy design while LED headlamp, tail lamp and turn signals could be on offer.
The test prototypes used front disc brake and the mandatory CBS technology for anchorage while the rear featured split LED tail lamp and a big grab rail while the instrument console is expected to be all-digital with connectivity features like Bluetooth and smartphone connectivity. It also had single-sided front suspension with anti-dive function and the rearview mirrors took an authentic triangular shape.