Bajaj Auto Trusts New Bikes for Huge Sales : BikeAdvice |  |
| Bajaj Auto Trusts New Bikes for Huge Sales Posted: 24 Jan 2012 10:55 PM PST
Original Source: Bajaj Auto Trusts New Bikes for Huge Sales from BikeAdvice.in Bajaj Auto, the country's second largest producer of two – wheelers has decided to maintain its high growth momentum in the sub – continent. In order to keep up the sales figures high for the year 2012 – 2013, the company believes that launching new bikes would be the most ideal solution, taking the present market scenario into consideration.
"We expect this initiative to bring enormous energy into our system. Customers who visit our showrooms will hopefully be impressed with what they see and overall sentiment will be lifted in the process," Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, told Business Line in an exclusive interview.In less than a week (30th of this month), Bajaj will launch the next generation Pulsar series which will be placed to fit in the mid – sports category. This is as part of the celebration for the 10th year anniversary of Pulsar which has made the company grow leaps and bounds, not only in the Indian market but across several other nations as well. "I am confident that the new Pulsar will be the most stunning sports bike in the world. It is also my belief that as much as DTS-i took the market by storm, the new technology in the Pulsar will shake up the market this decade," Mr Bajaj said. Mr. Bajaj had already announced that the next generation Pulsar will be based on a whole new platform and will be an entirely new series of bike by itself. Also, there will be another new product getting added to the company's portfolio by the month of June. This time, there are high chances for it to be the Discover series which will get a massive change – over. It can also so happen that the same technology and platform on which the new Pulsar would be based on would get transferred to the Discover breed as well. The brand currently has 3 variants, viz 100, 125 and 150cc which are all majorly used as commuters. Discover, as a brand is known for its refined engine and enhanced Fuel – Efficiency. "Our strategy is to be a bike specialist. We have every reason to believe that 2012-13 will be an exciting period where we can produce something special for customers both here and abroad," Mr Bajaj said. Bajaj's revenues from foreign markets is a whooping 35 [per cent as of now and will more likely see a rise in the days to some. Africa has already been identified bu Bajaj Auto as the key growth driver, in addition to its operations in Asia, while the KTM association could help Bajaj Auto make inroads into Brazil as part of the bigger Latin America journey. The business newspaper, Business Line also reported 'The company hopes to wrap up this fiscal with production of over 4.4 million bikes and three-wheelers and the new launches in 2012-13 are expected to give a fillip to the growth tempo.' The company is also looking up on opening fourth plant but it seems to be in no hurry. The reason for this is the fact that the 3 facilities at Chakan, Waluj and Pantnagar which are presently operating are sufficient for the company in meeting up its present demand. As an end note, "We have an astute business model with strong front and back-ends. We know that we are a volumes player but this does not have to translate into mediocre profitability. As much as it is common to find high profitability with low volumes, we are striving for fairly high profitability with fairly high volumes," Mr Bajaj said. Regards, |
| Bajaj Replaces All Its Pro-Biking Outlets Posted: 24 Jan 2012 08:30 PM PST
Original Source: Bajaj Replaces All Its Pro-Biking Outlets from BikeAdvice.in If you can rewind and go a few years behind, Bajaj launched exclusive Pro – Biking outlets to sell its high displacement bikes specifically. The launch of Ninjas into the Indian market prompted Bajaj Auto to take this step at that point of time. However, there was a common complaint there that bikes were never offered for test rides and the way customers were handled were also not so great. Now, let's come to the present. The news here is that Bajaj will be soon replacing all its pro – biking showrooms which have been its strength for quite some time in taping the Indian market.
Bajaj launched the first product from KTM – The KTM Duke 200 which is its strategic partner from Austria over which the Indian company holds around a massive 40 per cent share. The entire range of Pro – Biking showrooms will now be branded as KTM stores. I can hear your question about the selling of Ninjas here. Yes, both the models of Ninja – Ninja 250R and the 650R will be put to sale through the KTM store form now on. The Pro – Biking showrooms came live since the year 2003 and has been actively doing its part of selling the Pulsar 220, Pulsar 200 (which is no more produced) and other bikes for the past 8 years in a row. We will continue to distribute the Ninjas. When we first invested in Pro – biking in 2003, we knew that one day we would need exclusive distribution for the premium market," Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director said. He then added to his statement, "At that time, we had no idea what that brand would be. What Pulsar was 10 years back, KTM is today." KTM store becomes a necessity for the company to sell more of its products in the future. For instance, there are high chances of Bajaj to launch the Duke 350 in less than a year's time according to the industry speculations. KTM may also soon sell top-end Bajaj models, such as the Pulsar range, through its outlets in Europe and a few emerging markets. Exports for KTM already started in 2011. "We’re looking to sell Bajaj models through our dealers – this could happen in about two years. Europe is though not a market for the cheaper models," Mr. Stefan Pierer, the CEO of KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG said. Bajaj's stake in KTM not only enhances better sales for the company but also allows it to make use of KTM technology for its own products. The next generation pulsar which is due for launch on 30th of this month will prove this point. Business Line has quoted, 'KTM plans to make most of its smaller displacement bikes at Bajaj’s Chakan plant, while its bigger bikes will be made at its plant in Austria. With an annual capacity of 30,000 units at Chakan for KTM, two models are being manufactured at present – the Duke 200 and 125.' KTM makes use of Bajaj's plant in Chakan to manufacture and export its Duke 125 to the European market. Last year (2011), KTM exported 11,000 units to markets like Europe and America from India. This is expected to touch 1.5 lakh units in three years, Mr Pierer said. In India, the company expects to sell 2,000 units a month and thereby converting India as its biggest market by the year 2013, overtaking the US. Last year, KTM managed to sell over 81,000 units across the globe as part of its international presence. Regards, |
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