Bajaj launches Discover 150, to steer clear of scooters

Rajiv Bajaj reiterated his company’s vision as a specialist bike manufacturer during the launch of the Discover 150 here on Monday.

The Managing Director of Bajaj Auto made it clear that there was no plan of re-entering the scooter arena even if this meant higher volumes. “Being a specialist gives us the chance to be the best in the world. During a downturn, it makes sense to make a better bike and not a scooter,” he said.

The Discover 150 is part of this strategy and has been positioned as the most powerful motorcycle in the commuter segment. This is the space where Bajaj Auto has just not been able to make a breakthrough to threaten market leader, Hero MotoCorp.

With the Discover, the company believes that it can woo young buyers who are looking for the optimal mix of power and mileage. In addition, it has features such as a mono-shock suspension, petal disc brakes and tubeless tyres. The price ranges from Rs 52,000 to Rs 59,000 for the standard and half-fairing options.

According to Bajaj, being a specialist manufacturer makes sense as motorcycles accounts for nearly 70 per cent of volumes in the Indian market and 80 per cent in value. “It is important to be a specialist rather than a generalist. The idea is to do better business with better motorcycles,” he said.

Likewise, the company has charted out its objective as a global player without being confined to the Indian market. Last fiscal, it exported 1.4 million motorcycles which accounted for 68 per cent of all bikes shipped out from India. Today, Nigeria is Bajaj Auto’s largest market with half a million bikes exported last fiscal while Colombia took up two lakh units. Bangladesh and the Philippines followed with one lakh units each.

The global script is expected to get a further boost in the coming years with partners, KTM of Austria and Kawasaki Motor. This will cover a large part of the ASEAN region as well as Europe, Japan and Latin America.

“Our job is to create categories in motorcycles,” Bajaj said, driving home the point that it made little sense in being a ‘me too’ player. This is precisely what the company had done a decade earlier with the launch of the Discover 125 when there were virtually no 125cc bikes in the commuter segment.

“When you are a challenger, your edge has to be very sharp and mindshare becomes important,” Bajaj said. Today, the Splendor and Passion are the two most powerful commuter bike brands and are keeping Hero comfortably ahead nearly four years after it parted ways with Honda. It is this near monopoly that Bajaj Auto hopes to challenge with the Discover 150.

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