Bajaj’s Chetak delivered highest ever quarterly numbers in Q4FY24 that equalled previous year’s annual sales for the electric scooter, said Dinesh Thapar, Chief Financial Officer of Bajaj Auto.
“Chetak delivered its highest quarterly numbers of nearly 40,000 units. To put this in perspective, this time’s quarterly number of Chetak was more than the electric scooters that we sold in all of FY23," Thapar said in the conference call after announcing the automaker’s Q4 results.
Thapar also pointed out that Chetak also had significant market share gain, which increased from five percent in the previous year to 13 percent in the quarter.
Thapar pointed out that the electric scooter industry hit its peak in March due to the transition from FAME II scheme to EMPS scheme from April. March saw electric scooter figures hitting 1 lakh units and the previous instance of hitting one lakh also happened in May 2023 which was also triggered by subsidy change, Thapar said.
Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director of the company, said Chetak also moved up to third position in the electric scooter market at the end of the fiscal year, improving from the number six or seventh position at the beginning of the financial year.
“In a fiercely competitive environment, the growth of EV should continue, perhaps at lower rates, despite the changes in the subsidy regime, mainly by continuing to cannibalize the ICE scooter,” Sharma added.
Sharma says this cannibalization of ICE scooters and the growth of EV scooters will be an opportunity for the company. The company will focus on network expansion to utilise the market opportunity. “The 200 stores will be increased to 600 within the first half, giving us outstanding depth in coverage," Sharma added.
Anand Newar, Head of Investor Relations, said launch of new Chetak in Q1 will ensure sales will continue to grow every quarter. He warned of a dip in the month of April due to advancements made in March.
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