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G R N Somashekar

Driveway: Mr Amit Nandi, General Manager (Marketing), Bajaj Auto Ltd, at the launch of Plantina 125 DTS-Si in Bangalore on Wednesday. —

Our Bureau

Bangalore, Sept. 24 Bajaj Auto has put together a long-term strategy involving easier loans through its auto finance arm and breakthrough engine technology to push sales of its motorcycles.

The Bajaj Auto General Manager for Marketing, Mr Amit Nandi, told Business Line that its new motorcycle, Platina 125 cc based on the XCD platform gives mileage similar to a 100 cc motorcycle but with better performance.

“There are already two motorcycles based on this platform and we are planning to launch two more within six months,” Mr Nandi said. He said with this platform, Bajaj Auto wants to catalyse the migration of 100 cc customers to the 125 cc products.

Through Bajaj Auto Finance, the company has been able to recover its customer base to a considerable extent and the company plans to expand the base of its auto finance arm rapidly. It has also rolled out 21 company–owned showrooms for its high-end motorcycles.

Mr Nandi said Bajaj Auto has a 50 per cent market share in the 125 cc segment. The 125 cc segment constitutes 36 per cent of the total motor cycle market.

The Platina 125 DTS –Si (digital twin spark – swirl induction) is being produced at the company’s Waluj plant and it expects to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 of these motor cycles every month. The ex-showroom price of these motor cycles is about Rs 39,000 and gives a mileage of about 111 km per litre.

Mr Nandi said the company’s focus at present will be the motorcycle segment but it is planning to launch some products in the scooter segment as well. Some of the products which will be different from its Kristal scooter are currently under development.

Angel Broking auto analyst, Ms Vaishali Jajoo, said Bajaj Auto’s current strategy was a long-term plan which was based on aggressive pricing and better technology products.

In the short term, if the sales have to improve, inflation should come under control which could lead to lower interest rates to make more customers buy motorcycles.

Ms Jajoo said one of the reasons for Hero Honda performing better was because over 60 per cent of its sales are through cash purchase while for other motorcycle manufacturers, sales happen mostly through auto loans.

More Stories on : Strategy | Consumer Finance | Bajaj Auto Ltd

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