Bajaj Auto on the go with its GoGo electric 3-wheeler brand
It is now a little over three months since
Bajaj Auto
launched its electric three-wheeler brand, GoGo, and it has already raced to the top position both in its passenger and cargo versions.
As the company now prepares to launch its next offering, the e-rickshaw in the July-September quarter of this fiscal, it will be hoping for an encore of the GoGo success story. Popular in the northern and eastern regions of the country, the e-rick arena is largely dominated by local brands with the only prominent player from the traditional space being Mahindra & Mahindra with its
Treo Yaari
.
According to industry sources, the e-rick space is a 'different ballgame' compared to the traditional three-wheeler. This vehicle is more basic, has a seating of four passengers and its speed is confined to 25 kmph. It is slightly longer than the conventional autorickshaw in order to accommodate more number of passengers.
To that extent, the e-rick is not a city vehicle but more suited in small towns where people need affordable means of transport. The e-rick is also more comfortable than the local bus which is scarce and typically jammed to the hilt. From
Bajaj
Auto's point of view, its e-rick will will be 'more upmarket' than the present lot operating in the market in addition to the fact that it is a legacy company in the three-wheeler space.
Reliable solution
The company's top leadership had reiterated at a recent analysts Q&A session that the e-rick would strive to 'change the paradigm for both the drivers and passengers by bringing a well-engineered and reliable solution to an important last mile mobility challenge'. Clearly, the sky is the limit for this new offering given that the segment is fragmented and operating largely with 'subpar quality' products.
'Our pilot vehicles have covered 10,000 kilometres of extensive testing to confirm the highest levels of build and best-in-class forms. We expect the new e-rick under the new brand to open up a segment of almost 40,000 units, which we will hopefully upgrade over the next few years,' the top management said during the analysts meeting.
According to Bajaj Auto, the overall e-auto segment of the industry grew at about 60per cent last fiscal while its own market share doubled to 33per cent . The 'key highlight' has been the launch of the GoGo brand for its electric portfolio in autos which is distinct from the ICE brand encompassing RE and Maxima. The idea was to create a 'unique and memorable' identity in the minds of customers.
There are reasons to be upbeat since Bajaj Auto's electric 3-wheeler segment, which is under two years old, has rapidly scaled up to being 20per cent of the commercial vehicles revenue and 'hearteningly achieved' leadership in the course of this quarter.
Optimistic despite hiccups
Even while the three-wheeler business has its ups and downs accompanied by its own set of peculiarities (in terms of parts of it being regulated, the whole diesel to CNG conversion and now the entry of electric which can 'sort of override' the permit etc) the company remains 'very, very optimistic'.
Despite all these constraints, explained the management, the thing that is driving the three-wheeler business is the enormous requirement for last mile mobility. 'That is not getting fulfilled by either the metros or the buses or local trains and stuff like that. The three-wheeler is a very, very important vehicle to satisfy India's hunger for last mile mobility,' it added.
Now with the imminent launch of the e-rick, this will translate into 40,000 three-wheelers per month and, therefore, explains why Bajaj Auto believes that it 'gives us a very, very good method' to access the regulated market. Though it 'may sort of go' through its ups and downs, the three-wheeler business will continue to grow despite changes in the fuel type and shape.
'Obviously, we are going to introduce a lithium-ion product because lead acid has its own problems,' continued the management at the analysts session. Whilst on the subject, there was a reference to the company's Africa experience over a decade earlier when it came in with a high premium to the existing Chinese players there at that time in recognition of better quality and ownership convenience.
Also Read:
Bajaj Auto launches Chetak 3001 at ₹1 lakh
Natural shift
Over a period of time, people got better educated and shifted. 'Even today, we are seeing that the e-auto itself is upgrading the e-rick. It has its sources of growth in diesel and in e-rick and we can sort of see a third of the growth of e-auto is being driven by people who are second-time buyers or end-of-life drivers of e-rick,' observed the Bajaj leadership team.
With a good quality e-rick, which has its own 'unique proposition' in terms of size and payback and number of passengers it carries along with easier access in narrow streets, the company is confident that it will be able to upgrade the balance 90per cent also. This will clearly take time and will not be an overnight transition.
'Our eyes are set on the entire 40,000, but we are not saying that that will happen as soon as we want. FY '26 will be a year of observation and a year of building a pace. It will not be the year of solid scale up,' reiterated the management.
The process will begin with putting in a good product, observing it, understanding how it is delighting the drivers and the passengers and then going back and seeing whether 'we need to modify our product and our go-to-market approach appropriately'.
It will also be interesting to see if Bajaj Auto will consider having a sub-brand for the e-rick as part of an effort to reach out to its targeted customer. As in the case of Treo with its Yaari suffix, GoGo may well be accompanied by a similar name which is more Indian in its messaging and can strike a chord with people.
Also Read| Magnets in limbo: No rare earth nod yet from China for Indian auto suppliers
Chetak update
Whilst on the subject of electric, the Chetak two-wheeler has also been doing well with the two 35 series variants achieving a higher market share in the upper half of the segment. According to Bajaj, the Chetak portfolio will become potent and further expansion of this portfolio is envisaged in FY26 to 'attack' emerging subsegments.
The management said the reach of Chetak is delivered through a combination of high-class experience centres numbering over 300 along with 3,000 plus points of sale. 'We expect these initiatives to build a sustainable and profitable leadership position in FY26,' it added.
However, the dark cloud on the horizon relates to the growing shortage of rare earth magnets from China which are an 'essential component' of high-performance EV motors. The leadership team cautioned that any delay or disruption would seriously impact production by July. Hopefully, this will not delay the launch of the e-rick wither since the rare earth magnet crisis affects every electric vehicle across the spectrum.
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