Bajaj Auto today launched a new 125 cc bike Discover. The company said that this will play a crucial role in increasing its market share in motorcycles from 22 per cent now.

The 125 cc bike addresses the large market of 100 cc to 125 cc segment, which accounts for about 85 per cent of the domestic motorcycle market.

It is seen to help garner big volumes as it is priced attractively at ₹49,075, ex-showroom in Hyderabad.

This bike is about ₹4,000 lower than similar bikes offered by other manufacturers such as Glamour and Passion , making it an attractive proposition, said K Srinivas, President, Motorcycle Business.

Srinivas said: “AP accounts for about 17 per cent of total 125 cc bikes sold in the country. Therefore, we decided to launch the bike here.”

The new bike comes with a 125 cc 4-valve twin-spark DTSi engine offering 11.5 Ps power and a mileage of 76 km per litre making it an attractive proposition for new bike buyers, he said.

“Bajaj Auto has a market share of about 22 per cent of the country’s market of about 8.3 lakh motorcycles per month. However, in the sporty bike segment, we have a market share of about 45 per cent,” he explained.

Market remains subdued The company has overall manufacturing capacity of 4.8 million a year and the current capacity utilisation is at about 85 per cent, he said.

Referring to the country’s market of motorcycles, he said the SIAM data shows that the market continues to be subdued. On the Government’s recent move to bring down excise duty, he said though the manufacturers have passed on the benefit to the customers immediately after it was announced late last month, its impact has not yet been felt so far.

“While the move is good for the automotive sector, we expect volumes to pick up in the next couple of months.

The duty cut is valid till June, he said.

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