Bajaj to focus on scooter market again

Bajaj Auto, the country’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, is planning to strengthen its presence in the ungeared (automatic) scooter market by next year.

The company, which currently has only one ungeared four-stroke 100 cc scooter called Bajaj Kristal DTSi, plans to launch new models in that space next year. “We are interested in the scooter market and will launch new models in the ungeared segment. The brands we are looking at will not be replicas of the Scooty and Activa which are currently available. The core of our scooter offerings will revolve around excitement,” S Shridhar, CEO (two-wheelers) of Bajaj Auto Ltd said.

 

He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the company’s XCD 135 DTSi motorcycle in the capital on Wednesday. Bajaj, which was once the undisputed leader in the geared segment with such bestselling models like the Chetak and Super, stopped production of these brands 2006 due to plummeting sales and enforcement of stricter emission norms. In 2007, the Pune based manufacturer entered the scooter market again with the launch of the automatic Kristal scooter.

Market sources said the company did not put in enough marketing efforts to promote automatic scooters. “Even the Kristal now sells less than similar products from competitors. The entire energy of the company is being spent on developing and selling motorcycles,” a dealer said.

The emphasis on the scooter segment seems to be well-timed. While motorcycle sales posted a flat growth of 0.30 per cent between April and December 2008, those of ungeared scooters rose by a healthy 8.36 per cent.

This doesn’t mean that the company is going slow on the high-end executive motorcycle segment (125 – 250 cc) in the domestic market. “Our success as a manufacturer of motorcycles rests on having a marketing strategy that is brand-led rather than product-led. It’s rewarding to work on a brand-led strategy,” said Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto.