Bajaj Auto sells nearly 31,000 Avengers in February 2016

Bajaj Auto is making inroads into the 150cc category on the back of its cruiser brand – the Avenger.

The company has been registering month-on-month growth in the sales of its Avenger portfolio since the launch of new cruisers on October 27, 2015. In February 2016, Avenger sales have grown by close to 10 percent month-on-month.

While speaking to a leading Indian business news television channel earlier today, Kevin D’Souza, president, finance at Bajaj Auto, disclosed that the company has recorded sales of close to 31,000 Avengers in February 2016. The exact model-specific sales data is yet to be released by the company.

The company had sold a total of 28,085 units under its Avenger brand in January 2016. Of this, the single-cylinder, 149cc Avenger reportedly accounted for the bulk of the sales at 15,722 units. On the other hand, the 220cc Avenger variants accounted for sales of 12,363 units during the said month.

The Avenger brand had made it to the list of top 10 bestselling motorcycles’ list in December 2015 for the first time. At sales of 20,182 units in that month, the brand had ranked 10th on the list. Of this, while the 150cc variant had accounted for sales of 9,234 units, the 220cc variants had registered sales of 10,948 units.

Interestingly, for the first half of the ongoing fiscal, monthly Avenger sales averaged at close to 3,650 units.

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It can be recalled that Autocar Professional broke the news about Bajaj Auto readying an all-new 150cc Avenger cruiser in October 2015. Industry analysts had then pointed out that being first to market with its 150cc cruiser motorcycle, Bajaj Auto wanted to give a boost to its sales with the most affordable cruiser model in India.

During the launch of new Avenger models last year, Eric Vas, president, motorcycle business, Bajaj Auto had said, “Yes, we are first-to-market with the new Avenger 150, which will certainly give us an advantage. We plan to broaden the segment (cruiser motorcycle) and create new sub-segments in it going forward.”

The company is understood to be gunning for a further hold in the executive commuter segment (150cc) as yet another model (Bajaj V15) will soon begin its retail sales. At the premium end too, Bajaj Auto is known to have lined up a number of models for commercial rollout during 2016 and 2017.

Meanwhile, the company has reported total sales of 235,282 motorcycles (including exports) during February 2016, up by 8.89 percent YoY. The company had sold 216,077 units in February 2015.

Also read: INDIA SALES ANALYSIS - FEB 2016