Bajaj launches 2 new KTM variants; to open 125 more exclusive outlets

KTM sales have clocked at 46 per cent on a CAGR basis, says Amit Nandi

Bajaj Auto, which owns 49 per cent in the Austrian sport bikes brand KTM and has marketing and production rights of the same here, on Thursday rolled out the new variants of the KTM RC range comprising the RC 390 and the RC 200 with additional features, and said it will add 125 more exclusive outlets next financial year.

While the all-new RC 390 is priced at Rs 2.25 lakh, up by Rs 14,000 over the existing model, the RC 200 comes at a price tag of Rs 1.71 lakh, up from Rs 1.59 lakh earlier, ex-showroom Delhi.

The company attributed the price increase to the new emission standards kicking in from April this year.

Both the bikes are compliant with BS-IV norms, Amit Nandi, president for Probiking at Bajaj Auto said adding all the new models of Bajaj Auto are also BS-IV compliant.

Since the Pune-based company entered into the partnership with the No 1 European motorbike brand in January 2012, the company has sold over 1,00,000 KTMs, out of which 37,000 units were sold in 2016.

"The KTM sales have clocked at 46 per cent on a CAGR basis, since then," he added.

Probiking is a special marketing division that Bajaj has created to develop the racing and sport biking segment, which has clipped at 20 per cent in 2016 against the two-wheeler industry growth of 4.3 per cent in the year, Nandi added.

The new models will take head on the Yamaha R3, which sports a 300-cc engine, the Ninja 300 and the Honda CBR 250R.

He also claimed that KTM is the dominant market leader in the entry-level sport biking segment with a little over 30 per cent market share in a segment that has seen a volume of around 1,20,000 units last year and has close to 10 players including Yamaha, Honda, Motorad, Harley Davidson and Suziki, among others.

He also said the company will add 75 more exclusive KTM dealerships next financial year to take the total number out outlets to 450 by March 2018, from 325 now, spanning close to 290 cities.

"Out of our total sales, as much as 35 per cent come from the bottom 100 cities," Nandi said.

Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said the new RC range are race-ready motorcycles and boast of premium features like the ride-by-wire, slipper clutch, ABS (on the RC390) and the RC 200 sports features like aluminum swingarm, trellis frame and upside down suspension.

Nandi said the note ban had hit the sales in the past two months but has improved in the current month.