The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj launching Kawasaki super bikes

Ninja launch: Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto Ltd, at the launch of new bike of Kawasaki 'Ninja' at the 9th Auto Expo in the Capital on Friday. - Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi, Jan 11

With the likely emergence of a niche, new super bikes category of two-wheeler buyers, companies like Harley-Davidson and Yamaha have evinced interest or have gone ahead and announced plans to import and market such bikes. The latest to join the fray is the Bajaj-Kawasaki alliance.

Fresh after revealing its plans to launch new KTM bikes, Bajaj has now announced that a new agreement with its Japanese partner will enable it to bring Kawasaki's big bikes into India. Bajaj Auto and Kawasaki of Japan have had a relationship for the past 25 years that extended into technical collaboration and new product development.

However, unlike the other big bike manufacturers who have announced plans to import the bikes fully built from Japan or the US, the Bajaj-Kawasaki partnership would involve the import of the bike in knocked down form. The new bike will then be assembled here in India at Bajaj's Chakan plant.

Announcing the plans Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, said that the higher duty structure will make it prohibitively expensive to import the bikes fully built. The first of the super bikes from Kawasaki that will be launched here would be available at Bajaj Probiking showrooms by mid this the year.

Amongst the bikes being considered for launch here is the recently introduced Kawasaki Ninja 250. This bike is powered by an eight-valve, DOHC, liquid-cooled 250cc fuel injection engine that develops 30bhp of peak power, and is combined with a six-speed gearbox.

Speaking about the bike, Mr Bajaj said that the Ninja 250 is the correct product fit for the Indian market because it was developed in Thailand and is currently being manufactured for that market. The company is hoping to leverage the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that India has with Thailand. In the arrangement that Bajaj has with its partner, Kawasaki will be responsible for all technical support and Bajaj will be responsible for the distribution and marketing of the big bikes through Probiking showrooms.

He mentioned that the segment is a niche small volumes category and the assembling operations for the same can be easily accommodated at the Chakan plant, which has a production capacity of over one million units per annum.

Asean plans

In the meanwhile, Bajaj and Kawasaki are also extending their partnership for distributing the former's products in other countries in the Asean region. Kawasaki is already distributing Bajaj products in the Philippines. Now, the companies are hoping to take the Philippine model to other countries and the products under consideration include the XCD and the Pulsar.

Other big bikes being considered for the Indian market include the Sports Roadster ER-6n, the Ninja ZX-6R, the Z1000 and the Vulcan Cruiser.

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