Bajaj Chetak History

The Bajaj Chetak launched in 1972 and quickly became the dominant family scooter in India, offering Vespa-derived reliability at a price millions of middle-class households could aspire to. During the decades of India's license raj, waiting lists for a new Chetak stretched to years — families placed orders and waited, sometimes passing the position to children.

Named after the legendary horse of Maharana Pratap, the Chetak produced over 15 million units across its 33-year run. It defined Bajaj Auto's identity as a scooter company and was instrumental in putting two-wheeled personal transport within reach of ordinary Indians. Production of the original petrol Chetak ended in December 2005 as Bajaj pivoted entirely to motorcycles.

In January 2020 Bajaj revived the Chetak nameplate as a retro-styled electric scooter — the brand's first EV — launched initially in Pune and Bangalore. The electric Chetak retained the original's rounded, all-metal body language while swapping the combustion engine for a BLDC motor and lithium-ion battery, targeting urban commuters in an increasingly EV-aware market.