Bajaj inaugurates new EV manufacturing plant in Akurdi: Rolls out Chetak – EQ Mag Pro
Bajaj Auto has inaugurated its new EV manufacturing plant at Akurdi in Pune, Maharashtra. The company and its vendor partners will invest Rs 750 crores in this facility. It will have an annual production capacity of 5,00,000 units.
Bajaj Auto’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Chetak Technology Ltd., today inaugurated its new EV manufacturing plant at Pune’s Akurdi on the birth anniversary of late Shri Rahul Bajaj. Chetak Technology and its vendor partners will invest nearly Rs 750 crores in this new electric vehicle manufacturing facility. Moreover, the company says that its production capacity will be swiftly expanded to manufacture 5,00,000 electric two-wheelers per year.
Home-grown two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto’s new EV manufacturing plant under the Chetak brand is spread over half a million square feet and it is expected to generate employment for 11,000 people. “Co-located with a state-of-the-art R&D centre, CTL’s Akurdi facility is all set to be transformed into a major hub for the design, development, and manufacturing of Electric Vehicles,” the company said in an official statement.
It is worth mentioning that the inauguration of this new EV facility is a homecoming for Bajaj Auto in many ways because Akurdi is where the original iconic Chetak scooter was born in the 1970s and it went on to redefine mobility for generations in India. In October 2019, Bajaj Auto re-introduced the Chetak in an all-new electric avatar. Currently, it is offered in nearly 30 Indian cities.
Bajaj claims that over 14,000 Chetak e-scooters have been sold till date and more than 16,000 bookings are already in the pipeline. The Bajaj Chetak electric scooter gets a 3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack paired with a 3.8kW electric motor. It gets two riding modes, namely Eco and Sport. The Chetak can run up to 90 kilometres on a single charge and is priced at Rs 1.47 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Bajaj, Chairman – Chetak Technology Ltd., said, “Chetak is the original ‘Make in India’ superstar, which won hearts worldwide. True to those designed-and-built-in-India roots, the electric avatar of Chetak is born out of our strong R&D, deep understanding of products & consumers, and decades of manufacturing expertise.”
He further added, “Today on the 84th birthday of Bajaj Auto’s late Chairman Emeritus Shri Rahul Bajaj, we have delivered on our commitment to commission this centre of excellence for Chetak by June 2022. This focused, integrated and agile facility is intended to power the Chetak’s ride back to the future.”
Source: PTI
