The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Auto working on 4-wheeled goods carrier

Mr Rajiv Bajaj (right), Managing Director, Bajaj Auto Ltd, with Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, Executive Director, at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. - Paul Noronha

Mumbai , May 11

IN yet another instance of the blurring margin between two-wheeler and four-wheeler players in the race to service the bottom end of the market, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) has fired the first official salvo at the prospects of an unchallenged rule by the week-old Tata Ace, the only four-wheeled goods carrier yet in the three-wheeler space.

Speaking to newspersons, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of BAL, said that the company was working on a four-wheeled goods carrier but it could take 2-3 years for commercial introduction.

He did not give details about the likely payload of the vehicle but said that BAL was not looking at the passenger space.

According to a senior company official, BAL was looking at the four-wheeled option more as an extension of its three-wheeler range and hence the tendency to shy off a passenger version, which could merit a category transfer for the vehicle.

Tata Motors has an ongoing project aimed at producing a car that could sell in the vicinity of Rs 1 lakh or a similar level of affordability at the time of product launch.

The Ace was seen as tangible proof of the company's ability to shrink vehicle proportions and mark products to new low price points.

Mr Bajaj, on the other hand, offered a fresh take on the whole subject by acknowledging the competence of a Suzuki or Daihatsu in making a small car and that of Tata Motors in rolling out a mini-truck.

But if something similar was to be attempted from a two-wheeler background, then BAL could measure up to the task.

"A car is a car is a car is not always true. There are different ways of solving a problem," he said.

According to him, it was even likely that cost competence may vest with BAL as it sources components in typical two-wheeler format unlike the subsystem-based sourcing pattern of car manufacturers.

Company officials said that the four-wheeler project was a serious one with BAL's R&D, which is also working on bigger motorcycles, scooters and new generation three-wheelers.

On whether it was planning a four-wheeler, a senior official of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), another leading player in the three-wheeled goods carrier segment, refused to comment.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page