Following transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s announcement at the SIAM annual convention about moving to a 'no-permit' regime for autorickshaws powered by alternative fuels, Bajaj Auto has announced that it plans to increase its production capacity of three-wheelers and quadricycles to 1 million units per annum.
This means the company's current three-wheeler manufacturing capacity of 6,60,000 units at the Aurangabad plant will see a hike of 52 percent.
Bajaj Auto is the market leader with an 86 percent market share in alternate-fuelled three-wheelers and will look to maximise gains with the new policy development.
According to the company, the past 12 months have seen an upsurge in three-wheeler demand in India, mainly due to permits released in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Delhi. Consequently, during the September 2017 to August 2018 period, Bajaj Auto sold 4,35,000 three-wheelers – a growth of 88 percent – which has strengthened its leadership in this segment. The company currently has a 58.78 percent domestic market share in three-wheelers.
Meanwhile, this new development will give a boost to the Bajaj Qute quadricycle, which comes with CNG / LPG fuel options. Expect state governments to approve the quadricycle for taxi applications.
On the export front, Bajaj Auto says the volumes of its three-wheelers and the Qute in international markets continue to grow at a growth rate of 65 percent year-to-date.
Ved Janve
Dinshaw Magol
