Bajaj Auto to enter electric rickshaw segment, launch first model on August 10

Bajaj Auto is gearing up to enter the electric rickshaw segment in India with the launch of its first model on August 10. Having models across the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicle (EV) segments, the company is the largest three-wheeler manufacturer in the country.

Among the company's ICE three-wheelers are RE, Maxima Z, Maxima X Wide and Maxima C. It offers two electric three-wheelers Gogo and E-Tec. Apart from Maxima C, which is a cargo model, the rest are for passenger usage.

In Q1 FY26, Bajaj Auto's domestic three-wheeler volumes fell 2.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 1,05,464 units from 1,08,124 units in the year-ago quarter.

However, the company's electric three-wheeler registrations witnessed a massive jump of 195.6% y-o-y at 18,280 units during the quarter from 6,184 units in the same period last year, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

"We are going to launch the electric rickshaw on August 10. It is going to open a new segment for us. That segment is 45,000 units. However, 80-90% of it is in lead-acid battery space with very poor quality vehicles," Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma said during a select media roundtable post the company's Q1 FY26 results.

"We will commence our work of upgrading those customers. There is a lot of dissatisfaction among drivers and passengers. But then, our product will be more expensive. So, we have to do some upgrading work. That is one of the very big moves, this month itself," he added.

Sharma observed that the electric rickshaw segment was the largest in three-wheeler mobility in Q1 FY26. While the L3 category clocked 45,000 units, the L5 category posted volumes of 41,000 units. "This is now over 50% of the market," he said.

While the L3 category includes electric rickshaws or electric carts, the L5 category comprises electric three-wheelers with a maximum speed exceeding 25kmph or motor power above 0.25kW.

"The electric rickshaws are concentrated mainly in the north and central parts of the country. They are serving a very important purpose -- intra small town mobility," Sharma said, adding that the need of mobility in smaller towns of India is booming where you do not have other means like metros and even city buses.

"The way the electric rickshaw segment has proliferated over the last decade or so, it is very much disorganised. There are many importers importing certain kits and assembling them. However, these vehicles have a lot of issues, and they are all lead-acid battery-based, which poses an environmental hazard. We hope that we are able to reorganise this market over a period of time. We plan to observe for some time. Our volume ambitions in this quarter are very small. Hopefully, we will have a playbook in a couple of months," he observed.

At present, the electric rickshaw space is dominated by the likes of YC Electric Vehicle, Saera Electric Auto and Dilli Electric Auto.