Should you upgrade a 2023 Bajaj Chetak with the new battery for more range?

I have read that the Bajaj Chetak is getting new battery cells that improve the range. Will this also be available for the 2023 Chetak 2903? If yes, what will be the upgrade cost?

Rajendra Mhalgi, Pune

Autocar India says: Bajaj has switched suppliers for the battery cells in the latest Chetak models which have just gone on sale. This has brought about a small improvement in range, even though the battery capacity is the same.

Bajaj will probably have designed the updated battery pack to be backwards compatible with the existing scooters to simplify things like warranty replacements or accident repair, but the cost of doing so will be prohibitive. While battery prices have come down over the years, the battery pack still accounts for about a third of the cost of the vehicle, if not more. This also depends on the size of the battery pack; but you will be looking at a big expense in the tens of thousands. It makes no financial sense to do so for a marginal gain in range.

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