Bajaj Auto Registers 85% Spurt In Dec Sales

Bajaj Auto has registered an 85 per cent growth in December sales, at 62,379 bikes, as against 33,708 bikes sold in December 2000.

The announcement comes only a day after market leader Hero Honda and TVS Motor announced growth rates of 46.5 per cent (1.22 lakh units) and 40 per cent (43,220 units), respectively.

Bajaj Auto has also registered a 63 per cent increase in geared scooter sales during the month, at 27,368 units, as against 16,761 units last year.

As a result, the company's total two-wheeler sales, including the sales of ungeared scooters and step-throughs, touched 99,223 units, as against 59,920 units last year.

In the two-wheeler segment, the ungeared scooters segment is the only the section where the company registered a decline in sales, at 3,903 units, as against 4,236 units during December 2000.

Three-wheeler sales in December were flat at 12,143 units, against 12,599 units in the same period last year.

In a release, R L Ravichandran, vice-president (marketing & business development) of Bajaj Auto said, "The motorcycle marketshare has risen to more than 24 per cent in December, as compared to 19.4 per cent in December 2000. The cyclical trend (of the auto sector) reaches its peak in the next quarter (January-March 2002), which is usually the best period for the sector."

"This together with the nationwide launch of the Chetak 4-stroke, the Legend NXT2, the Pulsar (150cc & 180cc) makes us look forward to further gains in volumes and marketshare," Ravichandran added.

The Bajaj Auto scrip rose 3.56 per cent at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today to close at Rs 394. Around 31,102 shares of the company changed hands at the BSE today.