The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Auto bets on ‘Xceed’ to accelerate bottomline

Pune, Aug. 9 Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) is betting on the soon-to-be launched 125 cc ‘Xceed’, its first product designed specifically for the middle segment of the motorcycle market, to plump up its bottomline.

The new motorcycle that is slated for a national launch on September 9 has a new Digital Twin Spark - Swirl induction (DTS-Si) engine, developed on the platform of the DTS-i engine of the larger Pulsar. This will give it both power, and a mileage of 109 km per litre, and cost in the region of Rs 40,000, its Managing Director, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, has said.

Unveiling the new engine at its Akurdi plant, Mr Bajaj said the new product would bring rich rewards in terms of profitability for the company.

“The 100 cc is not our forte, it belongs to somebody else,” he quipped, explaining that despite BAL having a major presence in the bottom third of the motorcycle market, there was no money to be made in this segment. “Today, we sell less than 5,000 pieces of the Discover 110 in the 2,00,000 per month strong mid-segment where the EBIDTA margin is 15-20 per cent. So the potential is huge,” he said.

Roll-out today

The company will produce the Xceed at its Waluj facility near Aurangabad where the first few bikes will begin rolling out tomorrow.

“We will make 1,000 bikes this month, 20,000 in September and 50,000 per month as soon as we can. We will also produce it at the Pant Nagar plant from December,” Mr Bajaj said.

The DTS-Si platform was flexible and could be expanded both to smaller and larger motorcycles as well, he indicated, adding that the bike would be offered for export in the next fiscal.

More Stories on : Outlook | Two/Three Wheelers | Bajaj Auto Ltd

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