The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj’s XCD sales in Jan fall short of projections

Pune, Feb. 5 Sales of Bajaj Auto’s XCD, the 125 cc bike with DTS-Si technology, launched in September last year, have fallen short of its initial projections of 50,000 units per month with sales in January hovering around 20,000 units, according to a reliable source in the company.

The company had targeted selling 50,000 units per month by November 2007, and with sales expected to grow further, had declared it was ramping up production capacity to 75,000 units per month by January 2008 to meet the enhanced demand.

The XCD’s subdued sales numbers assume significance since the new bike was positioned as the product that would give BAL a shot-in-the-arm, lure buyers of 100 cc bikes to it, and catalyse the company’s shift from the 100cc business to the larger bikes.

The Managing Director, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, has consistently maintained that BAL would eventually like to exit the 100 cc segment that was both non-profitable as well as a laggard on account of ‘product fatigue’. The XCD was also seen as the one that would displace the Pulsar from its plum position in the Bajaj product line.

Company’s stance

Officially, the company is playing down the trend, and declined to put an official number on XCD’s performance stating that the individual sales break-up figures were not divulged.

The General Manager, Marketing, Mr Amit Nandi, said that while he did not have the exact sales number for the bike over the last two months, off the cuff, it averaged “in the vicinity of 35,000 units per month.” As for the Platina, “sales are around the same year-on-year at 50-55,000 units per month,” he said.

Enquiries with various dealers in Pune reveal that XCD sales peaked around October (45,000 units, as per a BAL release), and have dropped since, in contrast to BAL’s projections. “Typically, sales during October and November are twice those in the following months and this time round it is the same,” one dealer says.

Platina perks up

They also confirm that buyers’ interest in the Platina, that had dropped by nearly 40 per cent over the previous year, has picked up over the last few months and attribute this renewed buying spree to a festival discount of Rs 4,000 (revised to Rs 2,000 in the new year) on the price.

A company official put this down to the fact that this segment is extremely price sensitive and reacts favourably to any price cut. He also pointed out that the Pulsar took its own time in gaining popularity, and expressed confidence that the XCD would buck the current trend, and eventually establish its supremacy.

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