| Bajaj Auto is looking at acquiring a car company to break into the higher segments of the market as part of its long-term passenger car strategy. |
| The company is also developing an electric car jointly with Austria's KTM Sportsmotorcycle AG, in which it recently bought 22 per cent. |
| The company, which unveiled its small car yesterday, has also decided that it will not make cars in the B (Zen, Alto) and C (City, Verna) segments of the market. |
| Speaking to Business Standard, Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said: "The strategy of a company is best illustrated by what it decides not to do." |
| He added that Bajaj had expertise in light vehicles and, therefore, will build only a small car. |
| "For bigger cars we can acquire a company that does this best rather than doing it ourselves. And there are many companies available to do so," he added. |
| Bajaj also said the company is targeting a pre-tax margin of 10 to 15 per cent on the car project. |
| On the electric car, Stefan Pierer, chief executive officer of KTM, which makes high-end bikes, said: "Electric cars have a bright future especially with many European cities now restricting entry of petrol cars for a certain period every day to reduce pollution and congestion. We are talking about how we can provide 'urban mobility' in Europe". |
| Added Bajaj: "Urbanisation and oil at $100 have become big issues and we are creating solutions to address this." |
| Elaborating on his claim that his company's target is to make a car that will yield double the fuel efficiency of current small cars Bajaj said, "Most of the small cars give an on-road mileage of 15 to 20 km a litre. We are looking at a car that will give between 30 and 40 km to a litre." |
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