Bajaj Auto’s new motorcycle, better known now as the replacement to the 100cc segment, will be equipped with DTS-Si (digital twin spark swirl induction) technology. This, according to managing director, Rajiv Bajaj is an improvement over DTS-i (digital twin spark injection) that is now part of the Bajaj lineup.
Swirl involves a cylinder-head design that causes the air/fuel mixture to enter the combustion chamber at a high rate of speed, thereby increasing its atomisation and burn efficiency. Through this technology, the company will be able to offer a more powerful bike with better fuel efficiency. It was recently showcased to dealers and vendors in Australia but there is still not indication on its engine specifications.
PLATINA TO CONTINUE
On the subject of exiting the 100cc segment, Bajaj reiterated at a recent press meet that there were no plans to reduce sales of the Platina while conceding that competition in the form of Hero Honda was “terribly strong in 100cc bikes”.
“We are strong in everything but the 100cc category, and so we obviously want to play to our strengths. While we are not investing more effort in 100cc motorcycles, we are not abandoning 100cc intenders. Instead, we are moving them to a better product. Theoretically, all our customers should graduate to this product in 12 months,” he said.
Bajaj is betting that there may not be 100cc motorcycles in the future, just as there are no longer 150cc scooters in the market. “And while the production cost of the new platform will be the same, the company can price the bike higher by up to 15 percent, simply because it equips newer technology and offers better performance and fuel efficiency,” he added.
The company is progressively moving production of the Platina out of Waluj (Aurangabad) to its new plant in Uttarakhand. Bajaj made 7,000 motorcycles at Uttarakhand in April. It expects to bring this up to 20,000 units in May (at the time of going to press) with an eventual ramp up to 50,000 bikes a month. By this time, Waluj will be free of the Platina so that the new bike can be produced there.
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Meanwhile, the international business is going to play a more critical role for Bajaj Auto over the next two years. Exports grew a healthy 88 percent last fiscal, thanks largely to sales of over 1.5 lakh two- and three-wheelers in Sri Lanka, over one lakh two- and three-wheelers in Latin America, and one lakh vehicles in Africa and Middle East.
INDONESIA PROSPECTS
The company has now set up a joint venture company (with majority equity) as well as an assembly plant in Indonesia. It will sell the Pulsar 180 and its CNG three-wheeler (RE 4S) there. In the first two years, the focus will be on building its brand name as a good quality manufacturer and only then will it expand its product range.
“We will only launch high-end products in Indonesia in the first couple of years in order to achieve customer satisfaction at a good level. This will also make it easier for us to build a dealer network, whereby dealers start through more profitable products and breakeven faster,” said executive director, Sanjiv Bajaj.
He reiterated that the company would not enter the step-thru market which accounts for 70 percent of Indonesia’s two-wheeler sales (TVS Motor recently launched its Neo step-thru in the country). In comparison, motorcycles take up only 10 percent. The company is betting on consumers to upgrade to regular bikes as more products become available. It has targeted sales of 20,000 Pulsars in Indonesia this year.
Whether the strategy will work remains to be seen because there is one school of thought which argues that it makes more sense to be part of the bigger step-thru market. However, the fact remains that this arena is dominated by the Japanese trio of Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and it, therefore, makes sense to think of something different.
Bajaj Auto is not new to the Southeast Asian market, which is largely dominated by the Japanese motorcycle makers. It has been in the Philippines for three years through its technical partner Kawasaki. Last year, it sold 25,000 two-wheelers there for a market share of five percent. Bajaj also started making a version of its once famous Boxer motorcycles in Nigeria last year. It started selling the model in August and has already sold 8,000 vehicles there. The company will also start selling its Pulsar in Iran.
AMMAR MASTER