Bajaj to go big with EVs; Chetak expansion on cards

Bajaj Auto is planning to sharpen its EV strategy. The homegrown two-wheeler giant is gearing up to launch its electric motorcycles in FY2028. Also, it is planning to expand production of its Chetak electric scooter as Bajaj Auto seeks to strengthen its position in India's highly competitive two-wheeler market. The OEM revealed this plan at a time when its electric vehicles, including scooters and three-wheelers, contributed about 30% of its total domestic revenue in Q1 (April-June) FY27.

The push for electric motorcycles and scooters from Bajaj Auto comes as its rivals, including the TVS Motor Company, Hero MotoCorp and Ather Energy, stepped up competition in the country's fast-growing electric two-wheeler market.

Speaking of the company's EV performance, Bajaj Auto's CFO Dinesh Thapar said that demand for electric two-wheelers had outpaced supply during the last quarter, spurring the company to expand production capacity. He added that the firm aims to increase its production capacity for the Chetak electric scooter to 60,000 units per month from 50,000 units in the immediate term. "We've had a situation in Chetak where demand has outpaced supply, and what we are essentially doing now is to try and augment supply in the next couple of months for Chetak as well," Thapar said.

Bajaj Auto reported a 42.3% rise in the Q1 profit to ₹2,983 crore on strong domestic and overseas demand, while revenue was up 36.3% to ₹16,462 crore. Domestic two-wheeler sales of the company grew 11% in the quarter, compared with industry-wide growth of 20.3%, according to data from SIAM. Exports remained a key driver for Bajaj Auto in the first quarter, with overseas volumes rising 52% to 636,005 units, helped by growth in Latin America and a rebound in Africa.

Bajaj Auto's Executive Director Rakesh Sharma said that the company would have put up a better performance in Q1 FY27, but factors like inflation, supply chain issues and serious logistics issues impaired availability by 10- 15%. He also hopes the demand would continue at this pace. "The demand hopefully will continue at this rate. Of course, not those rocking rates post-GST, but good solid double-digit or maybe let's say 8-10% growth rates in domestic. Both electric two- and three-wheelers are growing extremely fast because of the obvious reasons of operating economics of EV versus petrol," Sharma said.

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