It's a homecoming for Bajaj Chetak at Akurdi

The iconic scooter brand, now in its new electric avatar, is back to its old home from where it first rolled out in 1972. Murali Gopalan visited Akurdi near Pune for the inauguration of Chetak Technology, the new EV arm, where nostalgia was in the air.

- Murali Gopalan

The mood at the Akurdi plant was distinctly nostalgic on June 10, the 84th birthday of Rahul Bajaj. The former Chairman of Bajaj Auto had passed away earlier this year and it was at this very plant 50 years ago when the iconic Chetak scooter first rolled out.

“We have always joked that Chetak was his favourite son so I would like to assume that he must be very happy right now,” said his son and Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj. This was a special occasion because it marked the rollout of the Chetak all over again, albeit in its new electric avatar.

The company had launched the scooter in 2019 but Akurdi is now its new home under the aegis of Chetak Technology. It was the best tribute one could pay to Rahul Bajaj who truly paved the way for affordable mobility with the scooter decades earlier. Bajaj Auto stopped manufacturing scooters many years ago and turned its focus to motorcycles but the revival of the Chetak is a clear acknowledgment that brands never die.

For Rajiv Bajaj, the event brought back a whole lot of memories. “On a more practical note, it is also an important day for me because this production shop, known as the scooter assembly shop, was where exactly I started work on December 19, 1990,” he reminisced.

As he put it, his “first day, first show” was in this very production shop which was way different back then. This was also the place where he met some of the most important people in his life. Bajaj recalled a list of names who were present on the occasion and laughingly added that they were, like him, old furniture who had been around for decades.