Bajaj Auto has filed a new moniker at the Indian Intellectual Property Office. The new name is ‘Freerider’, filed under the Nice Class 12, a category for automobiles both electric and with an internal combustion engine.
Bajaj and KTM, along with Husqvarna, had previously announced that the brands under the joint venture are developing electric vehicles. These include KTM scooters, Husqvarna Scooter and Husqvarna motorcycles. But because KTM already has an electric off-road motorcycle called Freeride E-XC, speculations are that the upcoming bike could be electric and off-road friendly.
Furthermore, speculations are that the Freerider could share the powertrain with the Husqvarna E-Pilen. Recently, Husqvarna revealed that the E-Pilen would come with an 8 kW power unit. The power unit is equivalent to 10.72 mechanical Hp. The motorcycle is also likely to feature a large enough battery pack that will provide around 90-110 km of range. Bajaj could install a swappable battery on the Freerider, allowing quick recharges and extended range.
While no images or design patents are available yet, we speculate that the new motorcycle will develop a modern design and possibly get a long-travel suspension. The bike is also likely to come with a slim bench seat, digital instruments cluster, and quirky body graphics. The Freerider could even come with alloy wheels shod in dual-sport tyres. Speculations in the market also suggest that the Freerider will come with a sharp and sporty design with a neo-retro theme. But at this point, it will be unfair to hypothesize anything further about the motorcycle.
At the beginning of 2020, Bajaj Auto launched the brand’s first electric scooter, Chetak Electric. The scooter went out of stock in the Indian market even due to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 13th April 2021, Bajaj reopened the order books for the Chetak electric, and in just 48 hours, the scooter got sold out again. The bookings were open in Pune and Bengaluru, and both cities saw a huge demand. The brand is likely to open bookings on the scooter again shortly.
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