Bajaj Chetak lineup to get new battery cells with more range

The Bajaj Chetak has gone from being one of the slower-selling e-scooters in the EV game to becoming the third best-selling scooter in less than 12 months. This surge is partly due to its increased reach across the country and partly because of the introduction of new, more affordable variants. We have now unearthed exclusive information that the Chetak line-up will use new battery cells from a different supplier, which will result in an increased range.

1. Will use new cells but battery capacity will remain the same
2. Variant names will also change
3. Prices could fluctuate with this rejig

Bajaj Chetak battery cell change, range increase details

Earlier this month, Bajaj launched a Chetak 3201 Special Edition scooter with the same 3.2 kWh battery capacity as the current Chetak Premium, but with a higher claimed range of 136 km, as opposed to the Premium's 126 km. While this flummoxed us initially, a little bit of digging revealed that the cells in the battery pack are now procured from a new supplier.

With the transition to new cells, Bajaj will also be updating the nomenclature of its variants to a numerical one. For example, the base model, the Chetak 2901, is named for its 2.9 kWh battery pack (denoted by the first two digits) and is the first variant in the current line-up to use this configuration (denoted by the last two digits). Similarly, we anticipate that the Premium and Urbane variants will adopt a similar naming system, with 3201 and 3202 being the likely possibilities, respectively.

Also See: Bajaj Chetak 2901 launched at Rs 95,998

Currently, the Chetak Premium costs Rs 1.47 lakh, while the 3201 special edition is priced lower than that, at Rs 1.40 lakh. It remains to be seen if the shift to new cells will also result in a price reduction for the variants that adopt new cells for their updated battery packsIf this does happen, it could boost Chetak's success even further in the next few months, and it might not be long before it takes over second place in the EV scooter market from the TVS iQube. 

Also See: Electric scooter, bike sales cross one lakh units as subsides are renewed