Bajaj Auto to re-enter scooter market

January 10, 2013: The one-time scooter giant Bajaj Auto, which exited scooter manufacturing to concentrate on making motorcycles, is looking at the booming scooter market in India with interest.

It is learnt that the company is working on developing an all-new, automatic scooter for India. Expect contemporary, modern styling with universal appeal on the new Bajaj scooter along with healthy specifications including a telescopic fork front suspension and an ample features list. Bajaj’s upcoming scooter will be powered by a four-stroke, single-cylinder engine displacing somewhere in the region of 125-150cc. It will offer electric start and automatic transmission.

While the specific launch date for the new scooter is not known, it is likely to roll out in a few months.

Bajaj Auto’s interest in the scooter market is not without reason. In SIAM’s just-released April-December 2012 sales figures, the scooter/scooterette segment has posted 18.44 percent growth, selling 2,178,209 units compared to 1,839,100 units in the year-ago period (see chart below). Of the seven players in the segment, HMSI has the giant’s share of 48.79 percent, followed by Hero MotoCorp with 18.04 percent. Even the recently launched Yamaha Ray scooter has notched sales of over 34,000 units.



RISHAD COOPER

Photograph: New Bajaj scooter will be the company’s first since the Kristal (seen above) rolled out in early 2007.