Is The Bajaj Chetak Heading To Europe?

The Bajaj Chetak is still only available in two cities so far, with its expansion plans having taken a hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more about that here, but now it seems as though Bajaj’s electric scooter could be on its way to Europe quite soon. Bajaj Auto has registered the design of the Chetak with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). This prevents any third party from using the Chetak’s design without consent, and it also indicates that Bajaj is seriously considering selling the scooter in Europe.

The registration comes as no surprise since Bajaj Auto’s Executive Director Rakesh Sharma had hinted at the prospect of exporting the Chetak way back at the time of its launch. Bajaj also has the perfect importer and distributor in place in the form of Pierer Mobility (formerly KTM Industries AG), the parent company of KTM and Husqvarna. The company’s CEO Stefan Pierer has in the past expressed a strong desire to import the Chetak to Europe.

In addition to the Chetak possibly being exported, Bajaj and KTM have also already agreed to jointly develop a 48V electric two-wheeler platform. This will most likely be a scooter with a power output in the range of 3kW to 10kW, destined to be produced in India and go on sale in 2021/2022. There is also a Husqvarna electric scooter coming next year that will almost certainly be based on the same platform. This is quite interesting since the Chetak also uses a 48V electrical system and a motor rated at 4kW. To find out what it’s like to ride, check out our review here.

This technological collaboration is likely to benefit all parties involved, and it’s quite possible that in the near future we’ll see Bajaj selling KTM and Husqvarna e-scooters in India, and Pierer Mobility selling Chetaks in Europe. Interesting times lie ahead.