Bajaj, Kawasaki Script Fresh Pact For Segmenting Bike Mart

Bajaj Auto has chalked out a new strategy for co-existence with Kawasaki, the Japanese auto giant, with which it has a license agreement for jointly developing motorcycles. The move comes in the wake of Bajaj's proposed entry into the motorcycle market with Pulsar, a high-end motorbike developed indigenously by the company.

As part of the strategy, while Bajaj Auto will concentrate on developing products in the price range of Rs 30,000-60,000, where most bikes sell, Kawasaki would offer a much wider choice of products, priced from Rs 35,000 upto Rs 2.5 lakh.

To begin with, Bajaj Auto is launching Pulsar, which comes with 150cc and 180cc engine options at a price difference of about Rs 8,000 in the high-end segment. Pulsar will be pitted against Hero Honda CBZ and TVS Suzuki's Fiero. So far, Kawasaki has not brought in any product in the same range as Pulsar, and is offering a 100cc bike (Boxer), 110cc bikes (Caliber & Caliber Croma) and a 175cc bike (Eliminator).

Rajiv Bajaj, president of Bajaj Auto said, "By introducing Pulsar in the 150-180cc range, we are achieving two things -- one, demonstrating that we are capable of making higher-end motorcycles, and two, we are offering something different and is complementary to our existing product range. The breadth of Kawasaki offering will be much more than ours."

"What we will be offering people is two choices. We should be able to differentiate and push customers in either of the two directions. If they want the same product as what the competition is offering with the same quality but at a lower price, they can buy Bajaj motorcycles. But if they want a product at the same price as competition, they can go for a better product from Kawasaki stable," Bajaj added.

Bajaj also said that work is under way to develop other motorcycles on its own strength, but did not give further details.