Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL), accused the government of diluting norms in the country for “what’s wrong with the electric vehicle industry”. Bajaj, who was interacting with the media in Pune on Friday, also talked about the “upstarts” who do not do enough before bringing the vehicle to market.
“You call them start ups, but I call them upstarts,” he said, referring to several players that crowd the segment. He said that such players do not have proper R&D or engineering and are importing the parts and launching it in the market without any verification. Referring to the various incidents of fires in electric vehicles (EVs), Bajaj jokingly said that there are two types of vehicles. “Those who have caught fire and those who are going to catch fire,” he said. He said the gold rush in electric vehicles was due to various incentives on offer. “But consumers are bright and won’t be taken for granted,” he said. The problem has also been compounded by deliberate dilution of norms by officials, he added.
While electric vehicles have become commonplace in the country, incidents of fire and accidents due to various reasons have cast a shadow over the safety of these vehicles. Most of the fires were reported due to battery failure and most of the batteries were being imported. Market experts say that the batteries are not meant to operate in high temperatures like in India.
On Friday, Bajaj also showcased the new assembly line of the electric Chetak, the iconic scooter that was relaunched in 2019. The electric Chetak is indigenous with Bajaj saying that they “do not take spare parts from China or Europe”. He said the assembly line can produce 800 to 2.5 lakh vehicles annually. The new assembly line will keep zero inventory and the total investment in this sector is around Rs 300 crore. The investment including supply chain is Rs 800 crore.
Electric three-wheelers to be launched this year
The company’s executive director Rakesh Sharma confirmed to the media that the company plans to launch an electric three-wheeler from the Walunj facility in Aurangabad later this year. Supply chain issues continue to be a cause of concern for the company in the wake of global concerns, Sharma said, adding that the situation remains volatile.