Bajaj Auto is planning a slow, calibrated push to take the Chetak, its electric scooter, to more than 100 countries on the strength of its distributor network and market-specific localisation rather than an aggressive global rollout, reports Sohini Das.
The two-wheeler giant had only 14 per cent of the electric two-wheeler market in May this year, but its 26.8 per cent in December
Bajaj Auto is gearing up to launch clean-energy vehicles including another motorcycle powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), showcase ethanol-powered motorcycles and three-wheelers next month, as well as launch a new Chetak platform early next year, as it closes in on hitting 100,000 monthly sales from clean-energy vehicles this festival season. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj said these initiatives were part of the firm's broader goal to achieve monthly sales of 100,000 clean-energy vehicles this festival season.
Opposition to the idea of quadricycles is a story of sour grapes, says Rajiv Bajaj.
Bajaj Auto Ltd on Friday said it plans to roll out 5,000 units of its much-delayed four-seater "quadricycle" codenamed RE-60 from its Aurangabad plant.
Japanese auto maker Nissan on Tuesday said it has decided not to continue its partnership with Bajaj for sourcing of ultra-low cost car, ending months of uncertainty.
Auto sales in April have started showing the impact of lockdowns that has put the brakes on the recovery of the sector, a report said on Tuesday. With more states announcing lockdowns and some more OEMs expecting to go for maintenance shutdowns, as many as 50 per cent of the dealers are likely to be impacted by the move, it added. However, the full-year prospects remain positive if the COVID wave recedes in the April quarter and the vaccination drive goes as planned, brokerage firm Centrum said in the report.
Bajaj talks about his plans for the RE-60, which was showcased in January last year in the Auto Expo, to Business Standard.
Eight others, including Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj and Tractor & Farm Equipment Chairman Mallika Srinivasan, received awards across categories at an award ceremony attended by over 350 people in New Delhi on Monday.
The country's second largest two- wheeler maker Bajaj Auto on Tuesday launched a sports bike 'Duke 200' from its Austrian associate firm KTM's portfolio at an introductory price of Rs 1.18 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Bajaj Auto on Tuesday launched its new 200 cc performance bike 'Pulsar DTS-i' priced at Rs 65,497.
In just three months from now, 'Hamara Bajaj' could become 'Hamara Pulsar' or 'Hamara Discover'.
"Now, in my view, Bajaj is a bit like a zoo," Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj said on Wednesday, likening the different models from the firm's stable as different animals in a zoo.
Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said the company has, in partnership with Renault-Nissan, developed India's most fuel efficient and least-polluting car engine.
Anticipating a robust demand during the festive season, the company is targeting to sell over five lakh motorcycles in the next two months
The company is also ramping up production at its Pantnagar facility, where it enjoys a 10-year tax holiday, and expects to achieve full capacity utilisation in the next five-six months. BAL has three plants with a total installed production capacity of 2.2 lakh units a month, while on an average it produces 1.6 lakh units.
The Maharashtra government can do little beyond using its good offices to pursue the Bajaj Auto management to revive production at its mother plant in Akurdi, near Pune.
Bajaj Auto Ltd will soon go for an across the board price hike in order to maintain profitability and offset the impact of the education cess introduced in the Budget, said Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajeev Bajaj.
Bajaj Auto said it did not want to shut down its Akurdi plant and had no intention to use the Akurdi land for any purpose other than the company's automotives business.
With tax sops kicking in after the opening of its plant in Uttarakhand, two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto has slashed prices of its 100 cc model Platina by Rs 3000, ahead of its planned exit from the segment.
After ruling the entry level segment with its 100cc motorcycles, the country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto Ltd has decided to exit the segment owing to relatively lower margins.
The country's second-biggest bike maker Bajaj Auto today said it will launch CNG
Bajaj Auto is likely to launch the much-awaited Quadricycle.
Euro NCAP had said it was disappointed to see quadricycles, including the Bajaj Qute, lack basic safety features.
Consumer groups have urged Bajaj Auto not to bring the Qute to India until such a time that necessary adjustments have been made to its design
Bajaj Auto on Monday unveiled a 150 cc bike 'V', which contains metal from India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Bajaj Auto on Tuesday said it is hopeful of finding a solution to end the strike at its Chakan plant in the next two days and hence has extended deadline for the permanent transfer of 50 per cent of production from there to other units till Friday.
The Chakan plant, which produces the KTM and Bajaj brands, is at present operating with manpower little more than half its total strength.
The $306-million investment in Ola Electric Mobility by SoftBank Corp, Arun Sarin Family, Ratan Tata and Matrix has been the biggest funding in this space in value terms this year.
The Bajaj Auto management and its union on Friday came to the negotiating table in a bid to end the four-day-old strike by over 1,500 workers at the Chakan plant demanding wage revision and better working conditions apart from a hefty paring of the companies shares with employees.
After five years, we are still waiting for permission to sell our four-wheeler in the country: Rahul Bajaj.
Bajaj Auto fears adverse impact on its exclusive loan deal with Bajaj Finance
Confirming that the company could shift its production to other facilities, Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj told Business Standard: "If we take a view that this (labour issue) is going to extend over the next two months, we certainly can do that, and will do that."
Corporate India's earnings in the past two quarters were largely driven by the rupee's sharp fall versus the dollar in the second quarter of this financial year.
At present, there are many vehicles that weigh close to the proposed increased weight of 600 kg.
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Scooters such as those from Kinetic Motors had become gearless by then and were no more family rides, but peppier individual modes of transport.
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