12/18/2023 0 Comments Halt and catch firestreamSo far Bajaj Auto has sold over 14000 EVs across 25 cities, and it is sitting on bookings of over 18000 units. The EV plant in Akurdi will not only serve the domestic volumes of Bajaj and Yulu, but it will also be a key export hub for KTM and Husqvarna scooters and motorcycles in the next two years, said Rakesh Sharma, ED, Bajaj Auto. The company is currently working on a range of products under the Chetak brand – and it has already started working on a dedicated platform for motorcycles, three-wheelers and Quadricycles. The company claimed apart from its investment, its vendor network will invest another Rs 500 crore, and together the EV plant in Akurdi will offer employment opportunities to over 10000 people. Rs 300 crore, the Chetak Technologies Limited, the factory will have an initial capacity of 5 lakh units per annum. The new facility has been built on core themes of focused, integrated and agile principles, which will allow Bajaj Auto to react swiftly. ![]() It is a robust process we follow that ensures what we produce is of the highest quality, durable and reliable that is what we produce," added Bajaj. Right or wrong, we have a certain way of doing things. Rajiv refuted a view when asked if Bajaj's move on the EV space has been slow and steady. ![]() Rajiv recalled his initial days at the factory and how some of the colleagues he encountered three decades back have gone on to lead some critical roles at the current factory. Inaugurating its only EV factory at Akurdi on the outskirts of Pune on his father's Late Rahul Bajaj's 84th birthday, Rajiv recalled his father's legacy and said, "We have always joked that Chetak was his favourite son I would like to assume that he is very happy, the way his birthday is celebrated." The CMD of the newly formed EV arm says, if you look at the world of internal combustion engines, you have ten large manufacturers at most, but in the EV space, "there is a so-called new EV maker every day you call them start-ups, I call them upstarts," he said. Quoting from the Sufi mystic Rumi's virtues, Bajaj said, "when the flower doesn't bloom, you don't fix the flower, you fix the environment." "They perhaps have failed at everything else they import some kits and assemble them and sell them," pondered over the state of affairs. The issue is the underlying process in manufacturing," Bajaj explained.īajaj Auto, on its part, is not in the space, "opportunistically," he said because there is a "big carrot out" in the form of FAME benefit or a state-level incentive which is tempting so many people. ![]() He stated that much like EVs, even internal combustion engines have caught fire from established vehicle makers like GM and Hyundai – but they have systems and processes to address them. The flagbearer of Bajaj's two-wheeler biz says there are only two types of EVs, those which have caught fire, and those which are going to catch fire he said The findings in DRDO's report are yet to be made public. The government asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to investigate these cases. Over the past few months, there have been instances of electric scooters made by Ola Electric, Okinawa and Pure EV, among others, spontaneously catching fire. That is perhaps why you see fires, mishaps and accidents," he explained. These people have no R&D, no engineering, no purchase function or nothing more than just a half assembly facility they are importing stuff, which has not been validated for the marketplace, and are putting it out. What concerns Rajiv more is that this environment has promoted "this gold rush."
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