Bajaj Auto has fired a new salvo into Hero Honda’s territory of commuter
bikes with the Discover
150. Priced at Rs 46,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Discover 150 is pitted against Hero Honda’s
Passion Pro, which retails at Rs 44,800 (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Speaking to
Autocar Professional, S
Sridhar, CEO – 2 Wheelers, Bajaj Auto, explained that his company’s strategy
with its latest
launch is to give the customer of commuter bikes an option to upgrade to a
bike with features
normally seen in higher segment bikes, at a ‘marginal’ cost.
The Discover 150cc offers features like 5-speed gearbox, disc brake and
wider tyres. At present,
Bajaj sells around 90,000 Discovers (80,000 units of Discover 100 + 10,000
units of Discover 135)
a month.
The Discover 135 has been discontinued in favour of its 150cc
variant. Sridhar says the
latest addition could lead to some cannibalisation within the Discover
family but expects
additional sales of 30,000-35,000 units. That would take Discover series’
monthly sales to up to
1.15 lakh units.