Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi plant near Pune, which shut down its two-wheeler operations five years ago, is back in business. It is now home to assembly of the top-end Ninja series from Kawasaki Motors. The Japanese two-wheeler maker has been Bajaj’s ally for three decades now and is keen on establishing its own footprint in India.

Akurdi is the company’s oldest facility which churned out the traditional geared scooters for decades and families would wait patiently even if it took years to get one. These were heady days when Bajaj was the monarch of scooters till the motorcycle momentum of the 1990s altered the Indian two-wheeler landscape. In the process, Akurdi gradually began losing its pedestal status as a two-wheeler plant and it was only natural for the company to make the inevitable detour to motorcycles. New facilities in Chakan near Pune and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) took precedence along with the older unit at Waluj, Aurangabad.

Yet, it was not as if Akurdi became irrelevant as a result of this change. Not only does it continue to be Bajaj Auto’s corporate headquarters but it also houses its all-important R&D centre, the key to its product development strategy.

Now, with Kawasaki leasing a part of the plant for its bikes, Akurdi has come a long way from making geared scooters to powerful bikes like the Ninja.

Indo-Japanese flavour Kawasaki teamed up with Bajaj way back in the 1980s when a host of Japanese two-wheeler makers entered India. Honda joined hands with the Hero and Kinetic groups in separate joint ventures while Suzuki entered into a partnership with TVS. Yamaha, meantime, opted for the Escorts group as its ally.

However, while all the other joint ventures broke up with time (Hero and Honda being the most recent in 2010), Kawasaki continues to go strong with Bajaj. This was also the only alliance which did not involve equity participation though there were talks of this happening over a decade ago.

It was also during this time that the partners contemplated creating a bigger role for India as a manufacturing hub for Kawasaki bikes with models like the Caliber and Wind 125 being an important part of the plan. Eventually, Bajaj decided to focus on its own Pulsar and Discover brands while assembling top-end bikes for Kawasaki at its Chakan plant which has now moved to Akurdi. The two are, however, going strong in the ASEAN region where Bajaj-branded motorcycles form part of the joint retail strategy. The teaming up with Kawasaki has helped the company increase its market share for the Pulsar and Discover brands in Indonesia and the Philippines. Going forward, the duo will explore more regions in the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world where the Kawasaki brand is strong.

Along with KTM of Austria, this arrangement fits well with Bajaj’s vision to become a prominent global motorcycles player. Regions identified for growth include Latin America. Africa in addition to Europe and US.

While Kawasaki has not quite elaborated on its India strategy, it is clearly keen on establishing a brand for itself in the coming years. Its bikes were first displayed at Bajaj’s Probiking showrooms and, subsequently, the KTM Stores which essentially showcase bikes of Bajaj’s Austrian partner in which it holds a 48 per cent stake. This interim arrangement made perfect sense since Kawasaki needed time to get its India retail business plan in place. The company now has an exclusive showroom in Pune and plans to open two more in Delhi and Bangalore. Annual numbers are modest and not expected to go over 2,500 units since top-end bikes are meant for a niche buyer unlike commuter options.

It now remains to be seen how Kawasaki intends revving up its Indian operations. Clearly, from its point of view, it is important to be part of the world’s largest two-wheeler market.

Yet, the Kawasaki range will be pitched against similar priced models from Harley, Royal Enfield and Triumph.

For the moment, it should not be complaining since it has loyal customers queuing up for the Ninja.

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