Bajaj Auto announces Rs 300 crore investment to build capacity for 500,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per annum.

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It has already started the work at a new manufacturing unit at Akurdi, site of the original Chetak factory. The first vehicle expected to roll out from new facility by June 2022

The company is expecting to generate incremental employment for 800 people. Notably, Akurdi (Pune) is also the site of the original Chetak scooter factory that made Bajaj Auto a household name in India.

"In 2001, Bajaj 2.0 took off on the roaring Pulsar, in 2021 Bajaj 3.0 arrives on the charming Chetak. Going forward, for the Bajaj portfolio, except for implementing one state-of-the-art ICE platform that is currently under development, all our R&D drive train resources are now laser focused on creating EV solutions for the future," said Rajiv Bajaj - Managing Director, Bajaj Auto.

"This alignment reflects our belief that light Electric Vehicles for sustainable urban mobility is an idea whose time may finally have come. Thus, this investment at Akurdi completes the virtuous cycle of hi-tech R&D competencies, high-efficiency engineering capabilities, world class supply chain synergies, and global distribution network which should leapfrog us into a market leading position in EVs in India and overseas."

As per the company, the new unit will have cutting-edge robotic and automated manufacturing systems for everything including logistics and material handling, fabrication and painting, assembly and quality assurance.

Besides, the investment made by Bajaj Auto will be supplemented by a number of vendors, who will invest a further Rs 250 crore.

The first vehicle from this unit is expected to roll out by June 2022.

"This new EV manufacturing unit at Akurdi is co-located with Bajaj Auto`s state-of-the-art R&D centre to foster greater collaboration, leading to faster time-to-market," the company said in a statement.

"It should transform Bajaj Auto`s Akurdi facility into a hub for design, development and manufacturing of a complete range of Electric Vehicles."