Future Electric KTM Will Be Based On Bajaj e-Scooter

Something electric this way comes.

By: Sabrina Giacomini

Nov 18, 2019 at 10:17am ET

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While Bajaj has been making the North American headlines for its partnership with Triumph, the Indian manufacturer also has a deal with KTM (and Husqvarna by extension). The goal of the partnership, like with Triumph, is to combine everyone’s efforts to build small motorcycles destined to the Asian market. The Austrian-Indian collaboration already bore fruit but it’s about to take things a step further. KTM will go electric and will use Bajaj’s new e-scooter as a base.

KTM and Husqvarna already have their respective electric bikes. So far, the two companies each offer their own version of an electric baby dirtbike. At Husqvarna’s, it’s the EE5. At KTM’s, the SX-E 5. In both cases, the 50cc-equivalent dirtbikes are not road legal and are meant for tiny riders (or big ones looking to have a good laugh).

It looks like the first road-legal electric vehicle the European firm will launch will be a scooter, based on a recently introduced Bajaj scooter. In October, Bajaj (re)introduced the Chetak, a legendary name discontinued in 2005 and getting a second chance at life as the manufacturer’s first electric two-wheel vehicle. While Bajaj’s new e-scooter will land in the showrooms in January 2020, the company already has plans of sharing the platform with KTM.

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The model is apparently already under development but no official timeline for its launch has been announced. We already know that the new Chetak will offer a range of roughly 50 to 55 miles and that a full charge will take five hours. Bajaj decided not to opt for a fast charger as it claims it reduces the battery’s life. On the Chetak, the battery is expected to be good for 43,000 miles. Considering the future KTM and Husqvarna electric scooters will be built on the same platform, similar numbers can possibly be expected.

Sources: India Times, Times of India