Mumbai: Bajaj Auto plans to launch electric motorcycles in fiscal 2028 and expand production of its Chetak electric scooter as the company looks to strengthen its presence in India’s rapidly growing electric two-wheeler market, Reuters reported.
The company said demand for its electric vehicles, including scooters and three-wheelers, remained strong during the first quarter, with EVs contributing around 30% of its domestic revenue.
Chief Financial Officer Dinesh Thapar said demand for the Chetak electric scooter exceeded supply during the quarter, prompting the company to increase manufacturing capacity.
“We’ve had a situation in Chetak where demand has outpaced supply. What we are essentially doing now is to augment supply in the next couple of months,” Thapar said during a post-earnings call.
Bajaj Auto plans to raise monthly production capacity for the Chetak scooter to 60,000 units from the current 50,000 units.
The company is expanding its electric vehicle portfolio as competition intensifies in India’s EV market, with rivals including TVS Motor, Hero MotoCorp and Ather Energy increasing their presence in the segment.
Bajaj Auto reported a 42.3% year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 29.83 billion for the April-June quarter, driven by strong domestic and export demand. Revenue increased 36.3% to Rs 164.62 billion during the period.
The company said exports remained a major growth driver, with overseas sales rising 52% to 636,005 units, supported by strong demand in Latin America and a recovery in African markets.
Domestic two-wheeler sales grew 11% during the quarter, compared with industry-wide growth of 20.3%, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), according to Reuters.
India’s automobile market continued to benefit from improving consumer demand following tax cuts introduced last year, although manufacturers faced higher commodity, energy and freight costs due to supply chain disruptions linked to the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Bajaj Auto’s results follow rival TVS Motor, which also reported higher quarterly earnings on the back of robust demand for premium motorcycles and electric vehicles.
