The 2024 Chetak will continue to be offered in 2 variants: Urbane and Premium.

Bajaj Auto is gearing up to launch the updated Chetak Premium on January 5. In fact, the updated e-scooters have already started arriving at dealerships.

The 2024 Chetak will continue to be offered in 2 variants: Urbane and Premium. The latter now gets additional features, including a digital instrument console with Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation. The Premium variant will also get a remote immobilizer and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The 2024 Chetak will carry forward the same neo-retro design with minor modifications to the handlebar to accommodate the TFT display. The underseat storage capacity has also gone up from 18 litres to 21 litres.

It is still unclear if Bajaj has made any technical changes to the powertrain. Currently, the Chetak Premium is available with a 2.9 kWh battery pack, offering 108 km of range.

OEMs are offered incentives of up to 18% of eligible sales for EVs and their components.

Ola Electric is said to have received a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) certification from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), becoming the first Indian electric 2-wheeler brand to do so.

According to a media report, Ola Electric has met the requirements outlined in the PLI scheme. This includes a minimum of 50% domestic value addition to its vehicles. The report also states that the company received its certification in a record timeframe of less than 4 months. 

The government of India approved the PLI scheme in 2021, with the intention of boosting domestic manufacturing of advanced automotive technology products like EVs. Under this scheme, OEMs are offered incentives of up to 18% of eligible sales for EVs and their components, with an aim to make EVs more affordable and promote the adoption of EVs in the Indian market.

Source: ET Auto

The 450 Apex is expected to be the brand's most performance-oriented e-scooter yet.

Ather Energy has announced the launch date for the 450 Apex. Touted as the "pinnacle of the 450 platform", the new e-scooter will go on sale on January 6, 2024.

The 450 Apex is expected to be the most performance-oriented e-scooter the company ever produced. It could use a more powerful electric motor, resulting in quicker acceleration and a higher top speed. As per the website, the 450 Apex will have four riding modes – Eco, Ride, Sport and Warp+.

Currently, the 450X uses a 6.4 kW electric motor that generates 26 Nm of torque. Ather claims a 0-40 km/h in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 90 km/h. The e-scooter is powered by a 3.7 kWh battery pack, offering a range of 150 km on a single charge.

The batteries are functioning well with re-charges every other week.

BHPian mail2sekh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

3000 km update:

Overall does the job as expected, no deal-breaker issues for a first product release ( Read below on the bloopers I had raised in the initial reviews which I have learnt to live with)

The 100km real world range in Eco mode is pretty much steady still after 9 months. That's a relief.

The batteries are functioning well with re-charges every other week.

Cruise and reverse mode is sweet, works as expected.

The ride quality and handling is good.

Annoying beeps and flashing lights many times when I lock or unlock. It takes 2 or 3 attempts to finally settle it down.

I have not figured out how the Regen works in this - a reverse turn of the accelerator used to do the job in the Ather. Here it shows the blue indicator( I assume battery charging?) as you let go of the throttle but if you do the reverse throttle then the blue bar goes back.

My scooter does not go >65kmph even in sport mode. It used to go till 80 but at some point something has kicked in - looks like a software block.I do not have custom mode enabled. But then, I am in Namma Bengaluru - so not complaining.

Learnt to live with:

• The non-existent rear brakes.No excuses there.
• The weird seat design(I can never close it manually but it eventually locks itself with a pillion + pothole combination.
• The terrible switches on the left handlebar. Hardly use them because your thumb can go numb if you try.
• The flimsy battery compartment locks ( they don't work any more as expected )

Never/Rarely used:

• The USB port
• The center stand
• The Vida App.
• Navigation (Feels like an attempt which made sense in 2005. Useless in this day. I end up carrying the phone for Google maps. That's sorely missed - Hero?!)
• Fast charging. Does it work now with Ather grid ? It did not the last time I checked.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I was out with my son and the electric scooter just switched off. We waited for 15-20 minutes, after which it did start but only to turn off again.

BHPian AdityaDeane recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Update on my Service Request

So, as I mentioned in the ownership review, I had put up a service request through the Ola Electric app for 22nd November, and due to some function on campus, postponed it by a day to 23rd November, 4-7PM time slot.

I was home the whole evening, but never received any call, or saw any service vehicle coming to cater to my request. At night, I again opened the app and rescheduled my service request to Sunday 1-4PM. The next morning, when I opened my e-mail, I got an email asking me for feedback about my recent service experience. I was flabbergasted! I gave my response that no one came for the service, and I am highly dissatisfied!

Then, on Thursday night, I went out at 10PM to switch on my scooter and take it out of vacation mode. I had fully charged the scooter, and turned on vacation mode, and kept it parked. To my surprise, it didn't switch on. I then tried to Reboot it as well, but nothing. I thought that maybe it was not starting as the ambient temperature showed 6°C, so waited for the whole Friday, and repeated this exercise during the warmth of the day, but still the same response.

Incidentally, I had left the charger in the boot thinking that when the service guys will come on Thursday, I'd switch the scooter on, so there should not be any charging problems in 3-4 days.

Finally, frantically I started messaging on all our WhatsApp and Telegram groups, and everyone suggested me to open the boot from the front (trust me it's a very easy process, so never leave anything valuable in your scooter's boot, any layman can do it with just 1 basic tool), and then Hard Reset the scooter by disconnecting the coupler and reconnecting it again. Some people suggested that the battery cells may have frozen and died in the cold morning climate, hence the issue. I was scared!

Finally, I mustered the courage to open the boot yesterday, and at least take my charger out, and see if the scooter charges or not. To my utter shock, it wasn't charging. The LED on the charger body wasn't coming on, no activity in the scooter like when it usually charges.

I called up the local Ola Experience Centre guy in Kullu, he suggested me to see if I can find any Ola scooters near me, and take my charger along, then connect it to their scooter and check if my charger has gone kaput. But, I could not find any scooter near Manali.

Then today afternoon, I decided to do the Hard Reset, and oh what a relief it was, to see the screen light up once again, and the scooter switched on with 96% battery remaining. I was so happy, that I charged it fully again, and asked my son to join me for a scooter trip somewhere close by.

This is the location of the coupler and the method to Hard Reset the scooter!

But, the joy was short lived. As I wasn't planning on a long drive, I stuck to my usual Normal Mode, and didn't use Sport Mode. I kept the speeds around 40Km/Hr, and did not strain the motor. I went from Manali to Majach village, a distance of around 10Kms from the Right Bank road, via Old Manali and Gaushal villages. The scooter went up without any problem!

The views from there are amazing, you can see the whole valley, and also the water reservoir side, on the way to Rohtang Pass!

We stopped in the village for some pics, and to enjoy the views of the valley. On the way down, the scooter switched off again, after driving just 4-500 meters, near the Bada Pathar and Iron Bridge. We sat down again to let the motor cool down, by walking down to the stream, and then coming back to the scooter after 15-20 minutes. It started but stopped after 3-4 feet. We sat down again and waited for another 10 minutes, and then we were able to drive back to Manali in Sport and Normal modes without any issues.

After all this, now I am very scared:

• I now know how to Hard Reset the scooter
• But, I also now know, how easy it is to open the boot, and how insecure it is to keep any valuable things there!
• Also, if the problem keeps popping up even in 10 odd kilometres of driving, what is the use of such a mode of transport in the house at all?

I was able to drive it till Dhundhi Bridge initially with my son, the scooter didn't overheat or switch off then, so why has the motor started heating up during every drive now?

I seriously hope that the Service guys come tomorrow and thoroughly check what is wrong with the motor or the software, and get a perfectly running scooter for my SAIRs around Manali!

P.S. - One more shocking update from the Kullu OEC person was that the Mandi Service Centre people have not received any service request from my App, and hence no one came.

What is the use of providing an App, and the feature to raise Service Requests, when it doesn't reach the concerned Service Centre? I have asked him to request them to come tomorrow by all means, let's see how things go.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Tork e-scooter could compete with the likes of the Ather 450S, Ola S1X and TVS iQube.

Pune-based Tork Motors is working on an electric scooter. One of the first test mules of the upcoming e-scooter was recently spotted in the city.

The spy images reveal the new e-scooter alongside the Tork Kratos e-bike. It has a flat and wide seat and dual rear shock absorbers. While technical details are scarce, the e-scooter could be powered by a hub-mounted motor.

Tork Motors’ upcoming electric scooter is expected to be less expensive compared to models like the Ather 450X and Ola S1 Pro. Moreover, it could compete with the likes of the Ather 450S, Ola S1X and TVS iQube.

The new e-scooter will be Tork Motors’ second product. It could be launched in the Indian market sometime next year.

Source: Zigwheels

The Simple Dot One comes with a fixed 3.7 kWh battery pack offering 151 km of range.

Simple Energy has announced the launch of the Dot One e-scooter at an introductory price of Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom, Bangalore).

The Simple Dot One is available in a single variant and comes in four colours – Namma Red, Brazen Black, Grace White and Azure Blue. It is equipped with a touchscreen instrument console and offers 35 litres of underseat storage.

The Simple Dot One comes with a fixed 3.7 kWh battery pack that powers an 8.5 kW electric motor that has a peak torque rating of 72 Nm. The company claims that the Dot One is the fastest in its segment, with a 0-40 km/h time of 2.77 seconds. It has a certified range of 151 km and an IDC range of 160 km.

The Dot One is equipped with a telescopic front fork and a monoshock at the rear. It rides on alloy wheels and features disc brakes at both ends.

The Simple Dot One is being offered specifically to those who have pre-booked the Simple One from Bangalore. The introductory prices are valid for a limited period while stocks last. Deliveries will begin in Bangalore, followed by other cities in a phased manner.

The Gogoro CrossOver electric scooter is available in three variants: GX250, 50 and S.

Gogoro has unveiled its first India-made e-scooter, the CrossOver. It will be initially offered to B2B customers in Delhi and Goa, followed by those in Mumbai and Pune in H1-2024. The e-scooter will be sold to private buyers from the second quarter of next year.

The Gogoro CrossOver is said to be based on a redesigned “all-terrain frame” that offers a variety of storage, riding and customization options. It comes in three variants: GX250, 50 and S.

The Gogoro CrossOver features a basic, utilitarian design. It is fitted with a telescopic fork at the front and dual shock absorbers at the rear, offering a ground clearance of 176 mm.

The GX250 comes with a mounting point expansion system offering 26 locking points and four cargo areas including a platform design headlight, foot, seat and rear cargo space.

The e-scooter uses a 2.5 kW direct-drive electric motor, allowing it to reach a top speed of over 60 km/h. The company claims that it can cover 111 km on a single charge.

Gogoro has also announced the launch of its battery-swapping network in India. Battery swapping stations are now open in Delhi and Goa and the company plans to expand to Mumbai and Pune next year.

The Bajaj Chetak had a market share of 13% in November 2023.

According to data shared by the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Bajaj Auto has sold over 1 lakh units of the Chetak e-scooter since its launch in January 2020.

Bajaj has achieved cumulative sales of 1,04,200 units by the end of November. The data shows, 62,991 units were sold between April and November 2023 – a 172% increase over the same period last year.

Looking at the list of the top EV makers in India, Ola Electric leads the table with TVS and Ather Energy in second and third place, respectively. Despite recording the best-ever monthly sales of 12,137 units in October, Bajaj Auto sits in fourth place. The Chetak had a market share of 13% last month.

Bajaj recently launched the new Urbane variant priced at Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom). It is powered by a 2.9 kWh battery offering 113 km of range, slightly higher than the outgoing model. The company is also said to be working on a new Premium variant with 127 km of range.

Source: Autocar India

India’s first AC and DC combined charging connector was built by Ather Energy.

Earlier this year, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Standard Body of India approved an AC and DC combined charging connector standard. The government has now clarified that it does not plan to mandate a single charging standard.

In response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha, Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State for Heavy Industries, said, “The government is not planning to mandate standardized charging ports for electric scooters.”

In India, electric 2-wheeler manufacturers have developed their own proprietary charging station software, which limits charging options for customers, as they cannot use the chargers set up by another brand. On the other hand, electric car makers don't face such issues as they have adopted a common CCS2 connector.

India’s first AC and DC combined charging connector was built by Ather Energy. The company had earlier approached the government to make a common charging port mandatory.