Pune, August 6, 2013: Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) plans to export a batch of 1,000 units of Pulsar 200NS bikes to Indonesia for retail sales during August 2013. The Pune-based motorcycle manufacturer has a marketing collaboration with Kawasaki Heavy Industries in India, Philippines and Indonesia wherein BAL can export, assemble and retail its select products using Kawasaki’s retail network (like BAL provides to Kawasaki in India).
The Pulsar 200NS will be retailed under the ‘Kawasaki Bajaj Pulsar’ brand in Indonesia. Talking to Autocar Professional on the sidelines of a press conference at the Akurdi facility yesterday, Pradeep Shrivastava, chief operating officer, BAL, said that “we recently started exporting the Pulsar 200NS bikes to Indonesia. We exported a batch of 500 units of this bike to Indonesia in July and plan to export another lot of 1,000 units during August to Kawasaki in Indonesia. These bikes are currently being rolled out from the Chakan facility, at par with our requirements.”
According to BAL sources, the company has a current export requirement of 120,000 bikes per month, out of which nearly 105,000 units are produced at the Waluj (Aurangabad) facility while the remaining 15,000 units come out of the troubled Chakan plant.
Interestingly, all export-oriented KTM models (125cc, 200cc and 375cc units) and the Pulsar 200NS bikes are currently produced at the Chakan plant. The company has a current export demand of nearly 3,000 KTM bikes per month while the export demand numbers for Pulsar 200NS bikes remain undisclosed.
According to the company’s first quarter financial results (Q1, FY2014), BAL has recorded a total turnover of Rs 5,087 crore (against Rs 5,048 crore during Q1, FY2013). Exports stood at Rs 1,876 crore (Q1, FY2014) against Rs 1,710 crore recorded in Q1, FY2013. Profit after tax stood at Rs 738 crore during Q1 FY2014 and it is clear that BAL is reaping the benefits of the depreciating rupee value versus the dollar. According to company data, while exports for Q1 FY2014 were nearly flat at US$ 327 million, in rupee terms, exports recorded a growth of 9.7 percent (Rs 1,876 crore over Rs 1,710 crore) during the period.
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