Bajaj Auto, the second largest motorcycle manufacturer and the largest exporter from India, has big plans for 2016 and 2017. The company, which made headway into the premium motorcycle segment in 2012 by launching the KTM 200 Duke, kick-started a trend that marked a shift of commuter motorcycle users to the premium end.
With four products under the KTM brand – Duke 200, 390, RC200, RC390 – the company expanded its Pulsar range with the launch of the single-cylinder, 200cc RS200 last year, that came in two variants including one equipped with ABS. While the latter became the most expensive Pulsar model, according to the company, the ABS variant of the Pulsar RS200 sold more than the non-ABS one. This clearly points out that although there is a growing room for premium motorcycles, potential customers are also upgrading themselves in terms of new categories of motorcycles, safety aspects, value-for-money, features and more.
Now, the company is gearing up to take the domestic market a notch higher in terms of creating space for new-value motorcycles. With a solid product strategy in the premium motorcycle segment, Bajaj Auto is looking at possibly opening up the adventure-touring category (with new model(s) lined up under the KTM brand), cruiser segment (possibly with a 375cc cruiser model under the Avenger brand) and multi-purpose urban-touring category (via CS 400 under the Pulsar brand) in the domestic territories.
That said, the upcoming products are also expected to open up new global markets for expanding business under exports. The company is also learnt to have initiated the process of upgrading its Chakan facility for the production of motorcycles under the Husqvarna brand. Multiple sources aware of the developments at Bajaj Auto have confirmed its aggressive product line-up and the ongoing activities at its Chakan plant, where the company currently manufactures the KTM models for domestic as well as the export markets.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
