Rajiv Bajaj thinks Bajaj Auto not ready for EV, here is why

Bajaj Auto recently launched the electric scooter Chetak, making its first step in the EV space. (REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee)

Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director - Bajaj Auto, has said that the company may not be best placed to make the most of the electric vehicles (EV) opportunity.

"I would say candidly, maybe 'we' including 'me' are not necessarily the most appropriate top management to lead this company forward into the electric space," Bajaj told CNBC-TV18.

Bajaj also said that the company might require a different kind of talent across functions, including top management, to tackle the challenge of electrification.

"With a sense of humility, we are saying to ourselves, that maybe the existing Bajaj Auto, as defined first and foremost by its existing talent may not be best placed to make the most of this opportunity," he said.

"What I mean by that is, first of all, at the operating level, quite clearly from R&D, through operations to marketing, the people that were good to make. Vespa scooters have a certain vintage were not up to the task of making Japanese motorcycles of the 90s. So this could be true once again," Bajaj told the news channel.

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The board of Bajaj Auto had in July approved setting of a wholly-owned subsidiary to tap growth opportunities in the electric and hybrid two-wheeler, three-wheeler and light four-wheeler categories.

The proposed authorised capital of the 100 percent subsidiary company will be Rs 100 crore and the paid-up capital being proposed is Rs 5 crore.

The company recently launched the electric scooter Chetak, making its first step in the EV space.