Bajaj Auto expects to roll out its electric scooters and e-autos (three-wheelers) by June, executive director Rakesh Sharma told FE.
He said the company will invest `300 crore at its Akurdi plant in Pune and the electric scooters will be rolled out from this facility. The e-auto rickshaws would be manufactured at its Aurangabad plant, Sharma said.
“We are gearing up for the large part of the portfolio becoming electric, so we are investing `300 crore for half-a-million capacity at Akurdi. We will, hopefully, start rolling out the first electric scooters by June,” Sharma said.
Last year in October, the company’s managing director, Rajiv Bajaj, had said that the new-age, stand-alone electric two-wheeler manufacturers should not take lightly the power of the good two-wheeler companies such as Bajaj Auto, Royal Enfield, and TVS Motors, whom he referred as the BET companies.
Comparing the business model of the start-up firms and the legacy players, Bajaj had then said: “Their business model is a cash-burn model. Our business is a cash-flow model. We have to make sure we make money. So, we operate very differently.”
Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi facility also houses its R&D centre and so would be a good location to manufacture electric scooters.
For e-auto rickshaws, the company will apply for certifications in a month or two, Sharma said.
The company is also exploring options to manufacture high-performance EV motorcycles jointly with KTM AG of Austria, a sports bike manufacturer. It is also partnering with UK’s Triumph Motorcycle to make affordable mid-capacity bikes for the Indian market.
The semiconductor or chip issue, which has hit auto manufacturers hard, is expected to continue for another six-nine months, Sharma said.
The compressed natural gas (CNG) market is also growing, with the government intending to add another 800 pumps this year, taking the total number to 3,500. This will also augur well for Bajaj Auto, which already has a 75% market share in the CNG three-wheeler market.
“That (CNG) is good for the environment and also good for Bajaj Auto as this is our area of deep strength,” Sharma added.
The company is also planning to foray into newer export markets such as Europe and Brazil in the next 12-18 months.
