Changing boundaries: Discover 150

Bajaj Auto has fired a new salvo into Hero Honda’s territory of commuter bikes, with the Discover 150. Priced at 46,000 rupees (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Discover 150 is pitted right against Hero Honda’s Passion Pro, which sells for 44,800 rupees (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Speaking to Autocar India, S Sridhar, CEO – 2 Wheelers, Bajaj Auto, says the company’s strategy with its latest bike is to give the customers of commuter bikes an option to upgrade to a bike with features that are seen in higher segment bikes, at a ‘marginal’ cost.

Bajaj Auto’s latest bike is powered through 4-Stroke 144.8cc DTS-i motor that develops 12.8bhp at 7500rpm while churning out max torque of 1.3kgm at 5500rpm. The bike sports 130mm telescopic front suspension coupled with Nitrox aided suspension at the rear. The Discover 150 also gets features like 5-speed gearbox, front disc brake, wider tyres at the rear and alloy wheels.

Currently, Bajaj sells around 90,000 Discovers (80,000 units of Discover 100 + 10,000 units of Discover 135) on a monthly basis. The Discover 135 has been discontinued in favour of its 150cc variant.
 
Sridhar says the latest addition could lead to some cannibalization within the Discover family, but even then he expects an additional sale of 30,000-35,000 units. In other words, Bajaj Auto expects the Discover series’ monthly sales to shoot up to 1.15 lakh units with the introduction of the Discover 150.