Bajaj Auto to roll out higher cc bikes next year

The two-wheeler maker aims to consolidate market share in the segment

Two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto Limited, is planning to roll out higher cc bikes going up to 500-cc to consolidate its market share, according to vice president (marketing) Sumeet Narang.

“Our new larger cc line up (Pulsar CS 400 and Pulsar SS400), showcased at the auto expo 2014, will hit the Indian roads sometime during the next calendar year,” he told mediapersons here on Tuesday.

Launching the Pulsar Adventure Sports series with Pulsar AS200, Pulsar AS150 and Pulsar RS200 in Hyderabad, Narang said the Pulsar series sold 55,000 units per month in the domestic market, with a market share of 43 per cent across engine capacities, making it the country's number one sports bike for 14 years in a row.

“We are confident that this new offerings will enable us to take that share close to 50 per cent,” he added.

Bajaj Auto created the sports bike segment in India with the launch of Pulsar 150-cc and Pulsar 180-cc in 2001. In the super sports bikes segment (220-cc-250-cc capacity bikes in the sub-Rs 1 lakh price point), Pulsar and its competition sell close to 10,000 units a month.

The super sports bike segment, currently accounts for only one per cent of the total bikes market in India.

“We expect this to double over the next one year. We will gear up to offer products in some more segment categories as the market demands,” Narang said.

The Pulsar AS200 is priced at Rs 93,287, and Pulsar AS150 at Rs 80,512 (ex-showroom, Telangana, while they are priced at Rs 93,472 and Rs 80,698 respectively, in Andhra Pradesh. The Pulsar RS200 starts at Rs 1,20,204 (non-anti-brake locking system version) and at Rs 1,32,412 (ABS version) in Telangana, while they are priced at Rs 1,20,390 and Rs 1,32,598, respectively, in Andhra Pradesh.