Bajaj Auto to ramp up production at Pantnagar

Plans to introduce new variants of its bike ‘Discover’ by September this year.

The success story of Hamara Bajaj scooter campaign may have ended after Bajaj Auto decided to stop production of its two key models — Chetak and Super.

But in its manufacturing facility at the tax incentive zone here, the company is gearing up to script a fresh story by introducing new variants of its popular motorbike ‘Discover’ by August-September this year and increasing its current production substantially, company sources said.

Bajaj Auto is producing Platina – (100cc and 125cc) and XCD – (125cc and 135cc) at the Pantnagar facility spread over an area of 66 acres.

The company had invested Rs 230 crore in the Pantnagar facility, which has the capacity to produce 1 million units per annum and has nearly 350 employees. The facility became operational in April 2007.

With the auto sector witnessing a fresh growth in the country, the company is planning to scale up its production to 60,000 units per month from the current 45,000. “The strategy is to increase the production and take maximum benefits of the tax incentives,” the sources said.

During the slowdown period, production at the factory declined to 20,000 units. But since March, the production is being increased rapidly and was scaled up to 30,000 units during the month. In May, it touched the 36,000-mark and this month was further raised to 45,000 per month.

Bajaj Auto stopped production of its popular scooters – Chetak and Super a few years ago. The company is now mainly focusing on motorbikes. There are also plans to produce three-wheelers from this factory.