Bajaj’s big step in EV, will set up manufacturing plant, 5 lakh vehicles will be made every year

Auto maker Bajaj Bajaj is going to make a big investment in the Electric Vehicle (EV) market. The company will set up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant at Akurdi, Pune with an investment of Rs 300 crore. Work has started on this plant and in the coming years, 5,00,000 electric vehicles will be manufactured here annually. Bajaj says that this plant will meet its domestic and export needs. The unit is spread over 5 lakh square feet and is expected to be commissioned by June 2022. About 800 people will get employment in this unit. The plant being set up in Akurdi is the same place where the original Chetak scooters are manufactured.

The new unit will have modern robotic and automated manufacturing systems. They will deal in everything including logistics and material handling, fabrication and painting, assembly and quality assurance.

Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto said It is that Light Electric Vehicle is such an idea for sustainable mobility of cities, whose time has come. He said that in 2001, Bajaj 2.0 took off in the market with Pulsar. In 2021, Bajaj 3.0 introduced the charming Chetak. Our R&D resources are now focused on building EV solutions. The company has said that this investment of Bajaj Auto will be completed by several vendors and will further invest about Rs 250 crore.

Akurdi’s unit is located alongside Bajaj Auto’s R&D center to promote collaboration. The company expects to transform this unit into a hub for the design, development and manufacturing of a complete range of electric vehicles in the times to come.

Bajaj’s new plant will further accelerate in the electric vehicle segment. At present, many startup companies are also coming forward in this field. Ahmedabad-based EV startup Matter may introduce its first electric two-wheeler in the first half of 2022. Greta Electric scooter maker Raj Electromotives is also expanding its dealer network across the country. The company has been focused on smaller towns, where two wheelers are primarily used by people as a form of public transport.