Bajaj to kick-start low-cost bike

[dwarakesh]

Bajaj Auto could be devising a multi-pronged strategy to generate growth in these troubled times. The company, which has seen a significant slowdown in domestic bike offtake over the last several months, may have already developed a low-cost motorcycle even as it works on upgrading the XCD platform for launching a "sports" bike next month.

Though the company has been vehemently denying any such move, industry sources say Bajaj has just begun testing a low-cost product in export markets such as Nigeria. According to these sources, this is a "sub-125 cc" bike and a debate is currently on within the company on whether to price it around Rs 30,000 (lower than the cheapest bike available in the market today) or slightly higher. Sources indicated that the brand name for the new product could be "Steel", but this could not be confirmed.

Bajaj may be able to price this bike lower than existing, entry level motorcycles by importing many components from low-cost sourcing bases such as China.

Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj did not respond to DNA queries on new products. Two-wheeler CEO S Sridhar, general manager (marketing) Amit Nandi and vice-president (business development) S Ravikumar also remained unavailable.

On the sports bike front, it seems the company has been working on project "L1" which is believed to be a 135cc sporty bike based on the XCD platform. It could be the first product Bajaj launches in collaboration with technology partner KTM.