Bajaj Auto eyes 20% growth in Andhra motorcycle sales

Company expects to grab 45% of market share this fiscal

Bajaj Auto Limited expects its motorcycle sales in Andhra Pradesh to go up by around 20 per cent to Rs 600 crore this fiscal, as compared to Rs 500 crore in the last fiscal. The company expects its market share in the state to increase to around 45 per cent from the present 35 per cent.

Speaking to Business Standard, B K Senapati, regional manager (two-wheeler), Bajaj Auto Limited, said: "The company has been witnessing a steady growth over the last couple of years. We expect to capture a good portion of the market by the end of the current fiscal due to new innovation in the products."

With Bajaj CT-100, the company has a market share of 55 per cent in the economy segment. With Pulsar, it has a market share of around 74 per cent in the premium segment.

"The company's recent launch of Bajaj Discover in the executive segment is also receiving a good response and we expect the CT-100 and Discover to help us buoy our market share," Senapati said.

Bajaj Discover was launched to take on Hero Honda's Splendor and TVS' Victor, which operate in the same class. This 125 cc motorcycle is priced at Rs 39,997 for the kick-start version and Rs 42,969 for the electric start version (ex-showroom). It comes with a four-stroke, DTSi engine producing power of 11.5 Ps and 1.1 kgm torque, the highest in its class.

According to Senapati, the company has so far sold around three lakh CT-100s across the country. The sales of CT-100 in the state have already crossed 20,000 vehicles.

"Due to production constraints, we expect to sell around 5,000 Discovers every month over the next two months in the state. Once we overcome the production constraints, we expect the sales to pick up," he said.

The company is also looking at modifying the Bajaj Eliminator Cruiser, which was launched in the high-end segment for Rs 99,000.

"The engine from the Pulsar 180 cc would be put into the new Eliminator and we would also be bringing down the price to around Rs 65,000," Senapati said. The company expects to launch this vehicle next January.

He said that the company was undertaking some technical modifications on its Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc bikes. Though Senapati did not elaborate much on this, he said that one of the features that would be added is a new alloy wheel in place of the normal wheel.

The company is also planning to launch its non-geared scooters in the 100 cc segment by January.

Senapati said that the company would also focus on the rural penetration. The company, which has around 32 dealers and 250 sub-dealers in the state, plans to add another 100 sub-dealers by the end of the current fiscal.