An alternative to a small car, it is expected to be priced ex-showroom between Rs 260,000 and Rs 300,000, and will offer better mileage (more than 30 km a litre) and less pollution than a car, and will be a convenient alternative to a two-wheeler but at the same operating costs.
To jointly manufacture complex and powerful engines soon.
The company, which saw a sharp dip in sales last financial year, seems to be coming out of the slump. It is selling more than 250,000 motorcycles a month (including exports). This is a huge jump from the 110,000-unit figure almost a year ago. The jump in sales has resulted in the two-wheeler manufacturer facing a capacity shortage.
Among the 30-share basket, 27 stocks led by Bajaj Auto and Bharti Airtel ended with losses.
Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Company, two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are finalising plans to launch electric vehicles in Europe and the US to take advantage of subsidies these countries are offering as part of their environmental agendas.
'Bajaj is proceeding as before to implement this project and any financial or other constraints that Renault-Nissan may have will have no bearing on the ability of Bajaj to implement this project,' Bajaj Auto Ltd Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said in a statement. He, however, did not elaborate on what kind of financial constraints Renault-Nissan is facing while carrying out the project.
Yes Bank, Wipro, Kotak Bank, M&M, Sun Pharma, Maruti, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, TCS, L&T, Bajaj Auto and HUL were among the top gainers, rising up to 6 per cent.
Tech Mahindra was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Maruti, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Reliance Industries.
UltraTech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints and Tata Steel.
'Only if the Budget springs some surprises we may see a halt in the selling.'
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.
On the Sensex chart, IndusInd Bank was the biggest gainer, spurting 5.45 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, M&M, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank.
Hero Honda, the country's largest and most valuable two-wheeler company, said it logged sales of 370,575 two-wheelers in April, up 29.5 per cent from April 2008.
Austrian two-wheeler maker KTM Power Sports is developing three intra-city transportation models - a trike, a budget car and a scooter - in a joint collaboration with Bajaj Auto. Bajaj, India's second-largest motorcycle maker, owns 21 per cent stake in KTM.
Ultratech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 4.37 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Reliance Industries, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC and ITC.
Aamir Khan has bought himself a humble V15 which has been marketed very well by Bajaj Auto, says Indian automobile website MotorBeam.com
Other prominent gainers included Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, HUL and HDFC Bank. NSE Nifty rose 86.40 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 11,503.35.
While the Nano is priced at Rs 1.12 lakh, Bajaj Auto's RE petrol variant costs about Rs 90,000, while its diesel variant is pegged at Rs 1.2 lakh. Analysts also say Bajaj can drop prices without any problem. "Bajaj Auto has been in the three-wheeler segment for 60 years. Which means their plants are fully depreciated and they can afford to lower the prices, which other manufacturers can't do," says a top executive from a competing three-wheeler brand.
Electric scooter registrations of eight companies which represent 95 per cent of the market have seen a sharp fall of over 24 per cent in May. They have registered 32,680 electric scooters against 43,098 in April according to VAHAN data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways available till the evening of 31 May. Auto analysts say the fall is a reflection of the initial pent up demand in the market for such vehicles,which was evinced in huge bookings, being met.
A day before the settlement of the six-year-old Bajaj family dispute, the Bombay High Court has asked Rahul Bajaj, the family patriarch and chairman of Bajaj Auto, to compensate the Pittie family, a minority shareholder in group investment firm Bachhraj & Company.
Market benchmark BSE Sensex declined over 247 points on Tuesday to close at 40,239 as heavy selling emerged mainly in power, oil & gas and IT stocks amid a strengthening rupee. Yes Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack with 10.05 per cent fall, followed by PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, ITC, TCS, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, M&M and HCL Tech, which lost up to 2.66 per cent. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, HUL, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Auto gained up to 1.06 per cent.
The Madras high court on Saturday restrained TVS Motor Company from manufacturing, marketing and selling its bike 'TVS Flame 125' in the ongoing patent infringement case with rival Bajaj Auto Limited.
The country's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Bajaj Auto, on Sunday said there was no case for any layoff in the company even though there has been a cut in production due to a slowdown in demand. According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, motorcycle sales in the country during October was down by 18.17 per cent at 5,38,353 units, against 6,57,874 units in the same month a year ago.
The Chennai-based company is developing bikes in the range of 200cc and above to compete with Bajaj Auto's Pulsar range, which begins with the 150cc variant and ends with the 220cc model at the top of the ranks, sources, who declined to be identified, said.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, dropping 3.35 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel down 2.52 per cent, Yes Bank 2.43 per cent, ONGC 1.98 per cent and ITC 1.96 per cent.
TVS Motor Company on Monday re-launched Flame, a 125cc motorbike, with a single-spark plug ignition system. The move comes in the wake of the Madras High Court restraining the country's third largest two-wheeler maker from making and selling Flame for using the controversial twin-spark plug system.
Japan's Kawasaki Motors plans to tap long-time partner Bajaj Auto's vendors for putting together its high-end motorcycles for the global market.
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.
French automotive giant Renault and India's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto has confirmed that they are holding talks for assessing 'very competitive vehicles' for the Indian market.
L&T was the top gainer in the Sensex pack followed by M&M, SBI, Titan, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Ultratech Cement.
According to industry sources, the company has contacted customers who bought the 125cc XCD to replace faulty electronic components for self start and head lamps along with a part of 'noisy' centre-stand.The company had last month launched the 125cc XCD, which it claims clubs features of a 150cc bike with the mileage of a 100cc motorcycle, at Rs 41,000 (ex-showroom).
The Pulsar 200 SS has been eagerly awaited and is bound to be a massive success among bike enthusiasts, says Faisal Ali Khan
Bajaj plans to double his share in the global market in three years.
The biggest gainers on both bourses were Bharti Airtel, HDFC duo, L&T, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, ITC and Bajaj Finance, rising up to 4 per cent.
A knee-jerk reaction, they said, could be detrimental to the fortunes of an industry that is highly dependent on the country given the huge competitive advantage it offers, in terms of cost and speed.
Bajaj Auto expects to launch its small car in the next four years in partnership with Renault and Nissan.
Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Hero Motocorp, which rallied 7.01 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel (6.69 per cent), Yes Bank (5.30 per cent), Adani Ports (4.90 per cent), Tata Steel (3.75 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (3.70 per cent).
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying nearly 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, M&M, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries. NSE Nifty advanced 33.95 points to a fresh high of 16,563.05.
On the Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Dr Reddy's, Tech Mahindra, ITC and Kotak Bank were the prominent gainers - rising up to 7.29 per cent. NSE Nifty climbed 102.40 points to end at 15,737.75.
