Brands
Bajaj Auto launches WEGO P9018 with 296 km electric range
Electric three-wheeler targets long-distance, high-volume last-mile mobility
PUNE: Bajaj Auto has launched the WEGO P9018, the largest electric three-wheeler in India, as it steps up its push into long-range, high-capacity electric mobility for passenger transport.
The new model delivers a certified range of 296 km on a single charge, the highest in India’s electric three-wheeler segment, powered by a 17.7 kwh battery: the largest yet fitted to an electric passenger carrier in the category.
Designed for medium- and long-distance operations, the Wego P9018 targets higher passenger and luggage loads, enabling operators to improve utilisation and earnings across urban, semi-urban and rural routes. Bajaj said the extended range is driven by a new battery management system, regenerative braking and vehicle-level efficiency gains.
The vehicle features a two-speed transmission, 36 per cent gradeability and a five-year warranty, aimed at ensuring consistent performance across demanding operating conditions.
The Wego brand builds on Bajaj Auto’s legacy in passenger three-wheelers, positioning the range as a platform for drivers and fleet operators who rely on last-mile mobility for livelihoods.
“Wego P9018 is the biggest electric three-wheeler in India, with the largest battery and a range of 296 km on one charge,” said Bajaj Auto intra-city business unit president Samardeep Subandh. “It is well suited for markets that require large carrying capacity and long operating range.”
The Bajaj Wego P9018 is priced at Rs 4,41,247 (ex-showroom) and is available pan-India.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
