There have been spy shots of the new Bajaj Auto scooter for a while now, and the wait finally ended on October 16. The auto major had taken a break from manufacturing scooters, but the age-old Chetak has been reborn again in a more electrified manner.
The new Chetak gets an all-new design with an all-steel body, unlike the plastic used in most of today's scooters. The headlamp is a horseshoe shaped LED unit complete with a LED DRL that forms a ring around the headlamp.
The front apron gets a small grille just under the headlamp and features turn signals with a scrolling feature. The split seat, however, has been replaced with a single seat to provide for storage room.
The scooter also gets a glove compartment along with a soft closing mechanism for a more premium feel.
As for the powertrain, battery specs have not been released yet, but we do know that we will be getting a 4 kW electric motor. The battery itself will be an IP67 lithium-ion battery pack with NCA cells. While visuals from the press conference show that the pack cannot be removed, the same still has to be confirmed.
The scooter also gets two riding modes: Eco for drives up to 95 km and sport mode which offers 85 km on a full charge. Charging can done through a standard 5 amp household electrical outlet. There is no fast charging system built in and a full charge can take up to five hours. Regenerative braking is also present to charge the battery while on the move.
This may be an electric scooter, but the display has a neutral light, so there may be a gearbox involved. But it could be a fully automated system.
Suspension upfront is handled by a single-sided trailing arm while the rear gets a monoshock. Braking duties are taken care of by discs at both ends.
In terms of electronics, the scooter gets an all-digital dash that provides most of the information about the bike. It also gets things you could expect from a new-age electric vehicle like data connectivity for remote vehicle monitoring as well as user authentication. The company will also be rolling out a Chetak mobile app for users to keep track of all the aspects of their scooters.
The price for the new Chetak will be announced at the time of its commercial launch, which is scheduled for January next year. The scooter will be sold through Bajaj's probiking showrooms that currently sell the KTM range of products.
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