World Motorcycle News

Bajaj Auto is putting in place an aggressive strategy for motorcycles which will kick off with the launch of the XCD 135 on January 21. The bike will cost approximately Rs 45,000 (ex-showroom).

The focus on the “middle-of-the-market” bike segment will continue with two more products scheduled to debut in April and July. Simply put, these are motorcycles in the 125cc to 135cc range with price tags hovering in the Rs 40,000 to Rs 46,000 bracket.

There will then be three more motorcycle launches “above and below the market” which could be 150cc plus options like the Pulsar, with prices upwards of Rs 55,000, and 100cc on the lines of the Platina at around Rs 35,000. From the company’s point of view, it is the middle and upper range bikes that will be its focus area in the coming years.

In an interview with Business Line , the Managing Director, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, said that the XCD 135 is a commuter sport bike with DTS-si technology. Its other features include a five-speed transmission, disc brakes, DU bush front suspension, digital speedometer etc.

The XCD 135, which will generate around 10.5 bhp will also boast of high on-road fuel efficiency at 65-70 kmpl at par with 100cc bikes. “We are confident that the bike will do good numbers and will fit in with our vision to build the XCD brand,” Mr Bajaj said.

The bike will roll out of the Waluj plant in Aurangabad, which is already home to its 125cc sibling. Production will begin at the Pantnagar facility by end-February. This relatively new unit already caters to production of the Platina and XCD 125.

Mr Bajaj readily admitted that the XCD 125 did not quite meet the company’s expectations at the time of its launch in September 2007.

“However, it is still part of our learning process at Bajaj Auto and the brand is here to stay. It finally boils down to the faith and commitment we have in the XCD. There is no question of abandoning it ever,” he said.

Asked if the new bike would clash with the already established Discover 135, Mr Bajaj pointed out that the latter was dearer at Rs 50,000 and delivers more power at 13 bhp

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Pune-based Bajaj Auto (BAL) is working on higher power bikes which will be launched under its own brand. It currently markets bikes up to 220cc and is developing a 250cc and a 300cc bike to tap the high-end domestic bike market. The new upgrade of Pulsar is also being developed by the company. According to a company official, BAL has already approached an Europe-based motorcycle design consultancy to work out new designs for the bikes and is also taking help from its Austrian bike company, KTM, in which BAL has a stake.

BAL GM (marketing) Amit Nandi said: “The new launches are part of the long-term plan to develop bigger bikes under the Bajaj banner. We are working on that. We have the capability and technology to develop products on our own, which will be leveraged to develop products across different segments.”

Unlike Hero Honda, which is dependent on its Japanese partner Honda Motor Co for technology, Bajaj Auto has developed its own technology over the years. So the company is working on new bikes based on its patented DTSi technology and also its indigenously developed fuel injection (FI) technology.

“Development of new models does not cost much in our business. It’s not a billion-dollar investment,’’ said BAL CEO (two-wheelers) S Sridhar. He said the company has the technology to develop products for a niche market. Since it does R&D on its own, it can cut development and manufacturing expenses.

Besides the new-generation motorcycles, the company is also developing new low-cost two-wheelers, which will be launched under a new brand. The segment and the characteristic of such bikes are yet to be worked out. The company said that “it will not be in the entry-level 100cc segment”. The company will also launch a new gearless scooter in the 100-150cc engine capacity next year.

The country’s second-largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto is expected to roll out the first of its KTM bikes in India to coincide with the
festive season this year, reports Our Bureau.

According to company officials, KTM bikes, initially launched as completely knocked down (CKD) kits , will happen by the second half of the next fiscal. However, for Bajaj Auto, excitement with the niche high-end bikes will begin in mid-May, when the Kawasaki Ninja 250R is expected to hit the roads.

Its price tag is expected to be in the range of Rs 2.5-3 lakh, company officials said. Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj has been quoted as saying that the Kawasaki Ninja 250R would come in as a CBU product, priced at over Rs 2 lakh. Meanwhile, the automotive major is rolling out its latest offering, the XCD 135 cc DTS-Si bike, which is available with drum brakes.

Vikalp Kapoor, regional manager, two-wheeler sales, Maharashtra, said the bike, fitted with disc brakes, will come into the market by the weekend. It is priced at Rs 47,000, ex showroom Pune. The entry-level XCD 135cc bike is priced just Rs 2,000 more than the XCD 125 cc, at Rs 43,000.

Bajaj Auto’s move to strengthen its position in the value segment will see the launch of two bikes over the next 4-5 months, starting with a 125 cc bike by March-April and another by May-June.

As we informed you earlier that from Rumors to the truth, we have now found new information on TVS motors. TVS is introducing the 180cc variant of TVS Apache, called the TVS Apache RTR 180 (Menace).

The 180cc variant of TVS Apache RTR would produce 17.3ps of power and 16.5Nm of torque and is expected to take on the Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi and Hero Honda Karizma.

Hero Electric on Thursday said that it would be rapidly expanding the infrastructure for electric vehicles by setting up recharging stations, thereby augmenting the demand for such bikes

Currently the company has 12 charging stations which are operational in the national capital and it plans to expand it to 10,000 charging stations.

“We are planning to set up 2000 outlets to facilitate electric bike owners to recharge their vehicle. We hope to expand the number of stations to 10,000 over the next three years,” said the company’s Managing Director, Mr Naveen Munjal.

Explaining the business model, he said that the company had trained mechanics of existing garage owners to provide recharging and servicing facility for electric vehicles also.

The cost of charging the battery is Rs 5 an hour, allowing the vehicle to cover a distance of approximately 10-20 km. Mr Munjal declined to comment on the investment for setting up the charging station stating that the company was hoping to bring down the cost per unit gradually and after the initial period, there could be joint investment made from the dealers end who would be setting up such stations.

The company also intends to set up stations at popular places like parking lots, malls, schools throughout the country to cater to the infrastructure requirement for selling electric vehicles.

The company from April-July sold around 18,000 units and plans to sell 65,000 units by the year end. Hero Electric has a total capacity of around 70,000 units to produce its range of electric vehicles like Maxi and the Optima.

Hero Electric is working on hybrid technology for vehicles which could lead the company to eventually manufacture the country’s first hybrid passenger cars.

“As of now, we are working on developing hybrid technology for vehicles. Once we are able to develop the technology it could see us using it for making passenger cars or even commercial vehicles,” Hero Electric Managing Director

But this project may take some time as manufacturing of hybrid cars was not immediately on the agenda as the company’s research and development team was still working on the technology.

Mr Munjal said Hero Electric, which was a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hero Exports, would soon come out of its fold and become an independent company under the Hero Group. “As Hero Electric has been performing well, the management decided to have its own independent entity.” He said once this development happens, the company would look at raising funds through the debt route. He added that the company would be open to talks with those who might want to tie up with Hero Electric for a joint venture.

Mr Munjal said he expects the electric vehicle market to expand rapidly because of rising fuel prices. The market size of electric two-wheelers in India was around 70,000 units in 2007, and during the current year, it had increased to 1.6 lakh units.

Hero Electric itself can produce 440 units a day across two shifts and plans to sell about 70,000 units this calendar year. In 2007, it sold about 21,000 units of its two models which cost between Rs 29,000 and Rs 31,000.