Bajaj produces 100,000 units in a month at Pantnagar units

Riding on the crest of the auto boom, Bajaj Auto added another feather in its cap by producing a record 100,000 units at its Pantnagar plant in just a month.

“As compared to all the other plants of the company, the production at Pantnagar last month was the highest reaching to 100,000-mark for the first time,” said a company official.

The company is also undertaking another expansion at its Pantnagar facility with an investment of about Rs 75 crore.

The company officials said the expansion programme is now going to be completed by January next year. Earlier, the officials were expecting the expansion to be completed in October this year.

The production at Bajaj’s Pantnagar unit is being ramped up to 1.8 million units from 1.2 million units per year in view of the heavy boom in the auto market. “We are carrying out the expansion which we hope to complete now by January,” said the official. “Due to the heavy rains, the expansion programmes were hampered,” said the official.

Last year also, the company had carried out a sizeable expansion scaling up the production from 6 lakh units to 12 lakh units per year at its 66 acre facility. Although, there is a strong possibility that the company may introduce new models but the official remain tightlipped. “Such possibility always remains,” said the official.

The company is currently producing two variants in each of its top models – Platina and Discover from Pantnagar.

Like Hero Honda and other auto companies, which are taking considerable benefits from the concessional industrial package, Bajaj Auto began production in 2007 in order to take the advantage of the tax sops which include 10 year long cent per cent excise rebate. The company had initially invested Rs 230 crore at Pantnagar. With the auto boom in the market, Bajaj Auto has improved its market share from 27 per cent in H1/2009-10 to 34 per cent in H1/2010-11.