The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj XCD: Value upgrade at entry level

With the launch of the new XCD, Bajaj claims to have identified a big future trend in the entry-level bike segment — a shift in customer preference from 100cc to 125cc. The rationale behind the new XCD seems simple: Provide premium features and fuel-efficiency at entry-level prices.

Bajaj Auto is in the midst of two issues or two events, both of which could redefine the company and its prospects. And both of them have stirred up considerable controversy during the last few weeks. One is the new bike that Bajaj is banking on to redefine the entry-level bike market and the other, of course, is the shutdown of its Akurdi plant.

Even as the company’s labour protests and seeks intervention to negotiate a different solution to the plant shutdown, Bajaj has gone ahead and launched its biggest challenge as yet in the entry-level bike segment.

Throwing down the gauntlet

After conceding the lead to Hero Honda, for years Bajaj waited to react to the bike market leader’s moves. And even after launching competing products in the entry category, Bajaj was not able to do much than merely ruffle the feathers of the market leader.

Though it was the two-wheeler market leader once, Bajaj failed to foresee the shift from scooters to bikes. But now, the company believes that it is at the cusp of what it terms will be a paradigm shift in the entry-level bike buyer’s preference — a shift away from 100cc and towards a new type of 125cc bike. A shift that Bajaj believes is the next step in the bike buyer’s progression towards maturity.

By identifying this potential future trend and marking its foray into it, Bajaj expects to gain the first mover advantage. But can the new bike — XCD — rattle Hero Honda and help Bajaj bridge the gap in market share with the Numero Uno?

XCD-ing X-pectations

There has been considerable hype about the new 125cc bike. All of us have been waiting to see the bike that gave Bajaj the confidence to shock the two-wheeler market by claiming that it is time to give the 100cc bike the burial. The entry-level 100cc bike segment is one on which Hero Honda’s very existence hinges, well almost.

Bajaj has named the new bike XCD, instead of the more mundane Exceed. Though visually there seems to be some minor design similarities with the Discover, the XCD is all-new and incorporates some really novel and innovative new features.

The Indian 100cc bike buyer is conservative and notoriously ‘un-experimentative’. Keeping that image of the target customer in mind, Bajaj has chosen to design the new XCD to exude a sense of style, even as it is not intimidating or expensive to look at. Yet, as Bajaj says, the XCD’s value is very self-evident, with 150cc segment features, 125cc performance and 100cc mileage.

High-end bike features in the XCD include a digital speedometer and fuel gauge, rear LED tail-lamp, a headlamp assembly with twin prismatic pilot lamps and a zero maintenance non-contact type wheel speed sensor. The digital speedo console has orange backlighting and includes all the warning lights, a fuel gauge and digital speed display, but does not feature an engine rpm-meter.

Nifty features

To further the new bike’s exclusivity, Bajaj R&D has also loaded a few extremely nifty features in the XCD. A unique folding number plate mounted on a pivot arm at the front allows it to neatly fold and tuck in under the front fairing for better aesthetics.

A special drive chain cover with a built in noise-damping feature improves refinement levels and a full DC electrical system for easy starting and constant headlamp illumination make riding the new bike hassle-free. Bajaj’s engineers have also designed a new, unique saree-guard-cum-utility box combo that is hinge-free and constructed out of hardy plastic.

The new XCD is currently offered only with one trim variant and electric start and alloy wheels are part of standard fitment. Disc brakes are not offered even as an option.

Reworked chassis

Bajaj R&D has also done considerable work on developing a light and yet sturdy chassis for the XCD.

A bit of lateral thinking and innovative experimentation have led to the construction of the new chassis , by extending the box section swing arm’s advantage to the bike as a whole. So, in addition to the swing arm, Bajaj has used square steel tubes for the single down tube chassis of the XCD, instead of the conventional round tubes, with the exception of the sub-frame members.

The new chassis has allowed great flexibility to the structure, even as it has proved to be more rigid and has enabled a big reduction in the weight of the bike. The XCD’s kerb weight is only 113 kg compared to the average 120 kg plus for bikes in its class. The lower weight also aids in improving this bike’s fuel-efficiency.

Spanking new engine

A spanking new engine from Bajaj powers the XCD. The 125cc DTS-Si (digital twin spark swirl induction) engine has been finely tuned for offering the best city riding-oriented performance. The 124.58cc mill generates a peak power of 9.53 bhp at 7,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 10.85 Nm at 5,000 rpm.

With a relatively quick peaking and flat torque character, the engine offers loads of low-end torque — a key performance parameter that enables easy city riding and frequent downshifts of the gearbox will not be required.

To better match the characteristics of the swirl induction engine, the XCD also features a unique side draught type carburettor with auto choke. The other in-house technologies that have been used with the XCD engine include TRICS and ExhausTEC, the exhaust resonator for low-end torque. The engine has been teamed up with a slick four-speed gearbox with an all-down shifting pattern.

X-cellent logic

The rationale behind the new XCD seems faultless and simple. Provide premium bike features in a bike that is priced at the entry-level segment, and which can also offer the fuel-efficiency that commuter bike buyers expect to get from their two-wheeler.

The Bajaj XCD will attempt to achieve all of these. Bajaj has also shrewdly moved up the Discover to a 135cc engine slot to make room for the 125cc XCD and to clearly define the focus for the new bike.

It would seem that Bajaj has also considered the current situation in Tier I and Tier II cities and towns, where buyers prefer a more powerful bike that will also be wallet friendly in terms of its fuel-efficiency.

In most South-East Asian countries, the entry-level two-wheeler segment is 125cc or above, even in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia wherein the market is dominated by step-thrus. That trend is likely to be replicated in India too, as the market matures here to that level.

Bajaj has probably identified a big future trend that is currently still in its infancy. It certainly can stake claim to having been the pioneer in identifying this shift in customer preference.

But eventually, as the other two-wheeler makers quietly come up with their own competing bikes, the XCD will still have to deliver and have the edge that is expected of a worthy pioneer.

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