Upload
tanya-nagpal
View
151
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
bajaj auto word doc
Citation preview
HAMARA BAJAJ- THE RISING STAR
REPORT SUBMITTED To
Dr.HIMANI SHARMA
Submitted by:
Khushboo Chawla D-09
Tanya Nagpal D-11
Renuka Tarale D-16
Himani Madaan D-19
Barkha Puri D-20
Poonam Singh D-22
INTRODUCTION TO BAJAJ AUTO LIMITED
Bajaj Auto Limited (Bajaj Auto) is a manufacturer of scooters, motorcycles and three-wheeler
vehicles and spare parts thereof. The Company operates in two segments: Automotive and
Investments. The group's flagship company, Bajaj Auto, is ranked as the world's fourth largest
two- and three- wheeler manufacturer. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, the
Company sold 4.35 million units, consisting of over 3.83 million motorcycles and more than
515,000 three-wheelers. Bajaj Auto is the flagship of the Bajaj group of companies. The group
comprises of 34 companies and was founded in the year 1926.
The Bajaj Group is amongst the top 10 business houses in India. Its footprint stretches over a
wide range of industries, spanning automobiles (two-wheelers and three-wheelers), home
appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. Bajaj brand is well-known
across several countries in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, South and South East Asia.
Founded in 1926, at the height of India's movement for independence from the British, the group
has an illustrious history. Jamnalal Bajaj, founder of the group, was a close confidant and
disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. His son, Kamalnayan Bajaj, took over the reins of business in
1942. Kamalnayan Bajaj not only consolidated the group, but also diversified into various
manufacturing activities. The present Chairman of the group, Rahul Bajaj, took charge of the
business in 1965. Under his leadership, the turnover of the Bajaj Auto the flagship company has
gone up from INR.72 million to INR. 120 billion, its product portfolio has expanded and the
brand has found a global market. He is one of India’s most distinguished business leaders and
internationally respected for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.
Bajaj Auto's has three plants, Two at Waluj and Chakan in Maharashtra, One at Pant Nagar in
Uttranchal. Bajaj is present in over 50 countries all over the globe. It has Dominant presence in
Africa, Latin America and South Asia with increasing market share every year.
It Offers The Following Range Of Products.
Scooters Cars Motorcycles Upcoming Models
Discontinued Models
Bajaj Kristal DTSi
Bajaj Lite conceptBajaj
Platina 100ccBajaj XCD 125 sprint
Bajaj Sunny
Bajaj RE60 - the Tata Nano competitor
Bajaj Platina 125 DTS-Si
Bajaj Chetak
Bajaj Platina 125 DTS-Si Bajaj CT 100
Bajaj Discover 135
DTS-i
Bajaj Super
Bajaj XCD 125 DTS-Si
Bajaj Saffire
Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si
Bajaj Wave
Bajaj Pulsar 135Bajaj Legend
Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi
Bajaj Discover 110cc
Bajaj Pulsar220 DTS-Fi
Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi
Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSi
Bajaj Discover DTS-i
125cc
Bajaj was initially a producer of Scooters only but slowly ventured into producing bikes as
well. So, what led to this shift in focus?
Bajaj Auto is one of the oldest and the second largest two wheeler manufacturer in India. In
addition to coping with fierce competition from other players in the two wheeler segment, it also
has to protect its market share from the impending onslaught of low price small cars such as Tata
Nano. Holding on to its position in such a challenging market environment requires innovative
strategies and deep understanding of consumers needs.
The jingle promised that it would stay with Indians for today and tomorrow as a Strong Symbol
of a Strong India, and two generations grew up humming the tune. But finally when the India of
the license-permit raj gets to take its seat at the global high table, the scooter that got Indians
there is fading away. Bajaj Auto, whose name has been synonymous with scooters in India for
decades, has stopped producing the vehicle. The company had stopped making the Chetak, once
the world's largest selling scooter in 2006.
In the 1960s, Bajaj Auto got a manufacturing license from Italy’s Piaggio and began
manufacturing and selling scooters under the brand name Vespa. In the seventies, when Piaggio
refused to renew its license, Bajaj began manufacturing under its own brand, like the Bajaj
Chetak, which was an instant success and even witnessed black marketeering with consumers
ready to pay a hefty premium to own one. But with the market moving towards motorcycles,
Bajaj stopped production of its bestselling brands like Chetak and Super in 2006 amid
plummeting sales. It again entered into scooters, but tentatively, in 2007 by launching the Kristal.
Till the 1980s, Bajaj was a value for money brand, churning out scooters with names like
Chetak, Super, Priya et al. They all looked the same and any one could tell they belonged to the
same family. In fact, Bajaj had various brands under its umbrella and their brand identity
remained “Humara Bajaj”. In the absence of any outside competition, the Bajaj brand name
flourished, with Chetak ruling the two-wheeler scooter segment. There was a time, getting
delivery of a Chetak used to command waiting periods of years, so much so that Rajeev Bajaj's
father and Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj once dared the government to arrest him for
exceeding government permitted production limits. Bajaj’s pithy but pitch-perfect base line,
“Humara Bajaj” struck a chord in every Indian heart while the title song of “Buland Bharat Ki
Buland Tasveer” added great value to its scooters.
During the ’80s and ’90s, Bajaj launched quite a few variants of Chetak and other newer models.
But deviations from the main Piaggio design did not always prove successful. The failures
started with the Bajaj Rave that the company promoted as a step-through design for an earlier
model, launched in the early 1990s. Next came the Stride, which was a more plasticky Chetak.
The Bravo, too, was derived from the Chetak but did not go well with buyers. The Legend,
which was a four stroke version of the Chetak, bombed miserably. Next in line was the Chetak 4
stroke, which again failed to stir the market. The death knell of Bajaj’s scooter business was
sounded when the company officially stopped the production of its flagship Chetak in December
2005. In bringing the curtains down on Chetak the company said that the product no longer had
any relevance to the customer, thus ending the saga of ‘Humara Bajaj’.
By the mid 80s and 90s, the two-wheeler segment had started shifting to motorcycles. Scooters
were no longer the attractive option they once seemed to be. Motorcycle sales started rising in
1990’s and by 1999 motorcycles overtook scooters in sales for the first time. It was a clear
indication of shift in consumer preference. The move is part of Bajaj’s new strategy to overtake
Honda and become the number one motorcycle manufacturer in the world. It is the second-
largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India. Hero Honda, which was established in 1984 by Hero
Group, and Honda Motor Corporation of Japan had been reaping the benefits of this trend. Bajaj
entered the motorcycle space in 1986 with the launch of Kawasaki Bajaj KB100, in a tie-up with
Kawasaki of Japan. But the company found itself lagging behind players such as Hero Honda,
Yamaha and TVS, who dominated the market and had carved up the business amongst
themselves. In order to succeed in the motorcycle segment it was important for Bajaj to shed its
brand image from being a scooter manufacturer to a motorcycle maker. Earlier scooter as two-
wheeler vehicle symbolized the middle class Indian families but now the bike symbolizes middle
class India. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, reasoned the shifting from scooters to
bikes that in order to become a motorcycle specialist and number one in the world, they have to
make a sacrifice, of manufacturing both motorcycles and scooters.
To get cracking on its ambition of becoming a credible motorcycle manufacturer, the company
built a new plant near Pune, away from the old plant at Akurdi. It invested big income in R&D
and product development. The company also had to face challenges of sales & distribution and
marketing & advertising. So far Bajaj’s dealers had been selling scooters; ergo, they had little
idea how to sell motorcycles. So the entire dealership network was trained to sell motorcycles.
Finally, in November 2001, Bajaj Auto launched Pulsar 150 & 180. The very first generation
Pulsar was equipped with an 18-litre fuel tank, muscular look, disc brake (which was considered
a novelty in that time), self start option, aircraft type filler, a unique speedometer with an rpm
metre and, above all, power plants which could generate massive 12 bhp and 15 bhp with power-
to-weight ratio of over 100bhp/tonne. The entire project took 30 months time and cost around
Rs. 1 billion. But it became an icon of performance brand in the country and has held on to that
position ever since. Nowadays every single second bike sold in the performance segment is a
Pulsar, which shows its dominance in the Indian marketplace.
The decision to move away from scooters, according to Bajaj, is pegged on three reasons. Firstly,
the company saw good profitability in selling strong brands like Pulsar and Discover 100cc
motorcycles. The EBITDA margin for the second quarter of year 2009 was at 22 per cent,
which was the highest in the auto industry so far. For the third quarter of same year they hoped
to do better. Vaishali Jajoo, analyst at Angel Broking, told that margins derived from selling
Pulsars were above industry average, at 15 per cent.
Secondly, MD thought the worldwide motorcycle market is growing faster than scooters. There
was enough headroom for growth both in the domestic and the export markets. In 2009 Bajaj
manufactured around 50,000 units of Boxers in China, which were sold in the export market. The
Boxer was sold as Platina in India.
Lastly, to address the top end with KTM motorcycles. The company had a 31.72 per cent stake
in Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM, which manufactured motorcycles of 250cc
configuration.
So, Bajaj made more money by being focused as motorcycle specialists rather than producing
everything and making no money at all.
THE ROAD BLOCKS….
The deceleration in growth in the Indian two wheeler industry was contributed mainly by the
motorcycles segment which grew at a much lower rate of 9.2% (YoY) in Q3, 2011-12, even as
the scooters segment continued to post 20% (YoY) expansion. In an environment where the
northward movement of inflation, fuel prices and interest rates has been the nemesis of the
Indian automobile industry at large, the 2W industry has been the most resilient reflected in its
healthy volume growth of 15.0% (YoY) in 9m, 2011-12. The main competitors of Bajaj Auto
have been Hero Moto Corp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), Yamaha Motors,
Suzuki Motorcycles etc.
As per the Financial year 2011-12, Hero Moto Corp has been the largest share holder in the
Motorbike Segment. Bajaj Auto being the second largest has a share of 19.1%. Its other main
competitors are HMSI , TVS etc. For Bajaj Auto Ltd., once its capacity enhancement programme
will be started, it would be able to produce 5.7 million two-wheelers and 600,000 three-
wheelers /four-wheelers annually across the company’s three plants. Moreover, the company
would utilize the available capacity to roll out new variants of its mainline brands--’Pulsar’ and
‘Discover’.
The goal of Bajaj Auto Ltd. is to become a bigger, better and stronger motorcycle manufacturer
on a global basis. Their every move is aimed at going up the value chain and maintaining their
profitability and increase their market share. With sales of around 3.8 million units, Bajaj has a
share of over 10 per cent in the 35-million-strong global motorcycle market. The company
records as much as 47 per cent of its overseas sales from Africa.
In order to be in pace with competitors, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) had decided to boost its capacity
by 25 % and has planned to increase its total output to 6.3 million vehicles. Its competitors are
also not far behind. While Hero Moto Corp is considering setting up a fourth plant to take its
annual capacity over seven million units, HMSI is in the process of establishing a third facility in
Karnataka, which would take its production capacity to four million units by 2013.
LEGAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) is one of the leading players in the two-wheeler market, the second
largest two-wheeler market in the world. The company's dominance in the scooter segment of the
market, and its eventual fall was against the customer tastes and preferences. It described the
reasons for the shift in demand and discusses the initiatives that the company undertook to regain
lost ground. It was reported that the 125 cc motorbikes accounted for 55 percent of all bikes sold
in India and the share would only grow in the future as the popularity of 100 cc bikes declined.
ECONOMICAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Bajaj Auto has got its strategy cut out. In a trying economic environment, it has plans to leverage
its strong brands in the bigger (125cc +) motorcycle segment of the two-wheeler industry and the
smaller three-wheeler segment of the light commercial vehicle industry. This has worked for the
country’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the past and has proved as an advantage
for the company in form of higher prices, a richer product mix, and lower cost of sales.
POLITICAL BUSINESS OF BAJAJ INDSTRIES
The world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer had reiterated its acknowledged market leadership
by recording an impressive 25% growth in sales for the financial year 2011-12. The focus of
Bajaj Auto is on building strong brand identities through extensive campaigns and on ground
marketing activities. It is also exploring previously untouched rural markets.
TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
Bajaj Auto's latest two-wheeler plant has sprung up having a rocky terrain interspersed with lush,
green fields fall behind as the plant nears. The Bajaj's Chakan plant which did not work in the
year 2000 now has a capacity to make six lakh two-wheelers in a year. The plant which makes
Bajaj's Pulsar has its sales at the highest and would capture 70% market share of the premium
end of Motorcycle market.
As it progressed, Bajaj started facing competition and difficulties. To overcome those it adopted
newer set of marketing strategies and promotional tools.
Bajaj goes by the philosophy that a brand can have just one positioning. The positioning that
each brand occupies in the mind of the customer has to be one, preferably unique. So, what Rajiv
Bajaj is trying to do is exactly right because today the Bajaj brand means too many things to too
many people.
In a bid to gain market share as well as mind share, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) is drawing up an
ambitious game plan which includes extension of its distribution network, new product launches,
marketing initiatives and fresh ad campaigns. For starters, the two-wheeler company is planning
to expand its Bajaj dealership network to touch 500 in the current financial year.
As for the rationale behind the company’s expansion plans, says Bajaj Auto Ltd vice-president
(marketing) RL Ravichandran: “With this move, we want to reach out to a wider target audience.
At present, we have 450 dealerships across the country. We plan to add 50 more dealers in the
rural and semi- rural markets in India.”
With Bajaj Auto Finance’s tie-up with ICICI and the State Bank of India, people in small towns
can now buy BAL brands. The company is also planning to spend a sizable portion of its ad
spend to promote new products such as Bajaj C100 and Discover, he added.
As part of its marketing strategy, the company plans to focus on outdoor media and ground
promotions to popularise its new launches. It also plans to host road shows to showcase the
merits of its new products in both the urban and rural markets.
Currently, Bajaj Auto’s advertising is handled by four agencies which include, Leo Burnett,
Ogilvy & Mather, Lowe India and Quadrant. The company has roped in Ogilvy & Mather to
handle the ad account of Discover.
The company is gearing up to launch Discover, a 125cc motorcycle in the executive sector. Bajaj
Discover, which will come in two variants, is expected to hit the roads within a week’s time. As
for the new launch’s target audience, says Mr Ravichandran: “Anybody who can spend Rs
40,000 for a stylish Mobike which also offers fuel efficiency.”
Incidentally, Bajaj Auto is planning to launch a high-voltage ad campaign in the first week of
October this year to popularise Discover, inform ad industry sources. “Mass media campaigns
will be supported by outdoor media and promotional activities,” add sources.
In the Indian motorcycle industry, Hero Honda leads the pack and the other major players
include TVS Motors Company and Kinetic Engineering, among others.
Bajaj has been striving hard to be the No. 1 in Indian two wheeler segment. Despite its effort it
not able to beat the Hero Honda, as Hero Honda has dominated the market for quiet a long time
and has created a good brand name. Among a great percentage of people, Bajaj bikes are better
than Hero Honda in terms of price, mileage and maintenance.
Intense competition was beginning to hurt sales at home and abroad during the calendar year
1997. Bajaj's low-tech, low-cost cycles were not faring as well as its rivals' higher-end offerings,
particularly in high-powered motorcycles, since poorer consumers were withstanding the worst
of the recession. It was then, when the company invested in its new Pune plant in order to
introduce new models more quickly. The company spent Rs 7.5 billion ($185 million) on
advanced, computer-controlled machine tools. It would need new models to comply with the
more stringent emissions standards slated for 2000. Bajaj began installing Rs 800 catalytic
converters to its two-stroke scooter models beginning in 1999.
Bajaj Auto had quadrupled its product design staff to 500. It also acquired technology from its
foreign partners, such as Kawasaki (motorcycles), Kubota (diesel engines), and Cagiva
(scooters). 'Honda's annual spend on R & D is more than my turnover,' noted Rahul Bajaj. His
son, Sangiv Bajaj, was working to improve the company's supply chain management. A
marketing executive was lured from TVS Suzuki to help push the new cycles.
Several new designs and a dozen upgrades of existing scooters came out in 1998 and 1999.
These, and a surge in consumer confidence, propelled Bajaj to sales records, and it began to
regain market share in the fast-growing motorcycle segment. Sales of three-wheelers fell as some
states, citing traffic and pollution concerns, limited the number of permits issued for them.
Strategies that are more visible to customers were:
Mobilising India — by supplying 4 million motorcycles out of a projected market of 10
million.
Globalising India — by rapidly enhancing exports and international facilities to become
among the three largest global player in two-wheelers.
Financing India — by ramping up the group’s financial operations.
De-Risking India — by expanding the group’s life and general
Pan India presence - Bajaj has showrooms evenly spread throughout the country. It also
sells premium segment bikes through pro-biking showrooms owned by company
Some of the famous ads include:
The very first TV commercial of the Bajaj Discover DTSi in 2004 featured Jackie Chan.
New Bajaj pulsar DTS-Fi 220 made the song ‘Hamara Bajaj’ widely famous.
Pulsar Mania-bike stunts of different range
New Pulsar 135 ad shows that a robber robs the bank and disappears within minutes promoting
its logo of the ‘The Fastest Bike’.
The introduction of Pulsar was executed with a completely different approach and a “Definitely
Male” positioning. Bajaj kept coming up with better products like the Pulsar 180cc, then the
Pulsar DTSi followed by the 200cc and 220cc Pulsars. The concept of “Definitely Male” was
well accepted by the people and Bajaj came out with some astonishing ads. Though the DTSi
technology was new, people accepted it very well. It easily conveyed the message it wanted to.
In 2004, Bajaj completely revamped its identity, gave up the “Humara Bajaj” umbrella and came
up with a completely new enhanced positioning focusing more on the technology and
experience. With a new, sharp brand logo, Bajaj pressed itself as “Digital Biking” and
“Distinctly Ahead”. By 2006, Bajaj Pulsars became the most popular motorbike product in the
newly emerging 150+ cc class of the Indian two wheeler market. The company has been
regularly making alterations to it to make the motorbike look fresh at all times. Bajaj today holds
over 50% market in the premium segment (for April-November 2011) followed by a distant
second-largest player Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India with a 19% market share. The
company has not only expanded its Pulsar range with the launch of a 135cc variant that has taken
the Pulsar portfolio across the 135cc-220cc segment over the past few years, it also launched the
Discover in the entry-level as well as the premium segment and it today has a presence across the
110cc and 150cc segment.
The market showed positive response and Bajaj started to grow and it adopted the
following Growth Strategies.
Bajaj Auto increased its sales and growth by engaging itself into strategic partnership with
foreign companies like Piaggio and Kawasaki.The mid-nineties also witnessed a dramatic shift in
the preference of Indian consumers, from stolid scooters to bolder bikes.
By 1999, motorcycles had overtaken scooter sales for the first time in the country. Bajaj Auto
was at crossroads — mobikes accounted for only a fraction of two-wheelers sold, and inflexible
systems, manpower and mindsets all contributed to the company being relegated from top dog to
the No 4 position, behind Hero Honda, Yamaha and TVS Suzuki.
In 2001 Bajaj Auto launches its latest offering in the premium bike segment 'Pulsar'. Before the
introduction of the Pulsar, the Indian motorcycle market trend was towards fuel efficient, small
capacity motorcycles (that formed the 80–125 cc class). Bigger motorcycles with higher capacity
virtually did not exist (except for Enfield Bullet). The launch and success of Hero Honda CBZ in
1999 showed that there was demand for performance bikes. Bajaj took the cue from there on and
launched the Pulsar twins in India on 24 November 2001. When the Pulsar was ready for launch
— the 150 cc and 180 cc models hit the road in November — Hero Honda ruled the roost with
100 cc bikes. Almost the entire bike market was 100 cc, and Bajaj were fast losing ground to
Hero Honda. The Bajaj Auto strategy was clear-cut : offer exactly the opposite of what the
leader was. If Hero Honda was talking about fuel efficiency, Bajaj made power its
proposition. The focus on power and muscular styling had to be the product differentiator, even
as the rest of the industry was riding on the more predictable platforms of fuel efficiency and
price. This led to a shift from the familial 'Hamara Bajaj' for Bajaj scooter’s slogan to the brash,
individualistic, testosterone-dripping 'Definitely Male’ of Bajaj Pulsar.. Since the introduction
and success of Bajaj Pulsar, Indian youth began expecting high power and other features from
affordable motorcycles.
In 2003 The second generation Pulsars featured Bajaj Auto's newly developed DTSi technology,
which increased the power rating of both versions by 1 hp (0.75 kW) each and also increased
fuel economy. 107,115 Motorcycles sold in a month. DTSi technology has been patented by
Bajaj Auto, which boosts the performance of the engine and while simultaneously cutting
emissions. The DTSi technology actually incorporates two sparkplugs (instead of one as in case
of normal motor engines) at either ends of the combustion chamber of the engine.In 2004 Bajaj
Discover, Bajaj Avenger DTS-i and Bajaj Wave DTS-i was launched.
In 2005, Rajiv Bajaj, Rahul Bajaj’s elder son, became the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto. He
has been instrumental in focusing Bajaj Auto on motorcycle manufacturing, driving down costs
and raising productivity in the company’s operations while investing heavily in research and
development. He was instrumental in being more brand centric than placing Bajaj automobiles
under single ‘ Bajaj Umbrella’.
In September 2007 Bajaj Auto launched the motorcycle Bajaj XCD 125 DTS-Si. It clocked up
sales of 18,000 units in its first month and sold around 28,000 units per month. On January 2009,
a 135 cc version of XCD was launched. Bajaj reported that more than 20,000 units of XCD 135
were sold in its first month of launch Due to reduced sales, the 125 cc version was discontinued
by Bajaj on November 2009, followed by the 135cc variant. Bajaj XCD was the first 125 cc bike
in India to feature LCD instruments in the console. In 2007 RE GDi autorickshaw , Bajaj XCD
125 DTS-Si , Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi was launched
Even though Bajaj on its own is a global player, that is not where it wants to keep itself. In 2009,
Renault-Nissan and Bajaj Auto reached to an agreement in which Indian automaker was
supposed to design, develop and manufacture the product, which was intended as an ultra low
cost car, priced at USD 3000, while the alliance would sell it under their badging.
This is a significant move because it directly competes with Tata NANO. Bajaj has also
displayed its small car prototype in the Delhi auto expo in 2012. It promises double the mileage
as compared to any car in the economy segment and is also considering the option of introducing
Diesel and LPG variants. The four wheeler segment will also be able to hedge any risk that might
arise because of the two wheeler industry and would profit from retaining consumers switching
from two wheelers.
In 2010, the tie- up between Bajaj, the Austrian motorcycle company KTM and Kawasaki,
was conceived with a very different motive. That of a supreme dominance. All the three
brands have their own legacy behind them. Kawasaki has the legacy of having the largest
product range, KTM having its own legacy of lust evoking bikes and Bajaj having its own legacy
of its age and reliability. Their alliance is based on the pretext of mutual benefit and the ability to
share tech seamlessly between the three such as to maintain their current range of products but
still be able produce components common to all three brands.
According to Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto , on alliance with KTM; ” we will have a front-end
support of the KTM brand, which will have enormous price leverage, and on the other hand, we
will have Bajaj Auto adding the cost structure with enormous price advantage. We want to have
the correct combination of price and technology”. The tie-up with KTM fits in with Bajaj's
ambition of going for larger and sportier bikes, desired for the international market. Both
companies have been actively involved in the creation of high-performance motorcycles since
the past couple of years but which are developed on a far better cost structure, thanks to the
back-end price support of Bajaj Auto. It is one of the growth strategy of BAJAJ auto to have
alliances with foreign partners for their technical support and to increase its market growth.
Bajaj auto strategy is brand centered at the front end and platform based at the back end.
So the key to profitable growth, in every market that they participate in, is their ability to
continually improve the alignment between new categories and current core competencies.
That is, they need to figure out how to take what we know and do well and to make it appeal to
consumers in other markets. They also need to learn to do this in a manner that’s not just
appropriate for Bajaj brands but also harmonious with those of our global partners, KTM and
Kawasaki, which operate, predominantly, in markets in the Northern Hemisphere.
THE ROAD AHEAD……
The automobile industry in India has witnessed a rapid growth over the last couple of decades
and in recent years it has also captured the attention of the whole world with some innovative
products. It includes manufacturing of cars, two-wheelers like motorcycles, scooters, bikes,
passenger cars, trucks, tractors, defense vehicles and buses. The automobile industry can be
widely divided into car manufacturing, heavy vehicle manufacturing and two-wheeler
manufacturing. It requires a skilled and trained manpower with good technical knowledge.
India is the major three-wheeler market and two-wheeler manufacturer in the world. Some of the
popular car-producing companies that offer jobs in the automobile industry are- Suzuki, Toyota,
Tata, Fiat, Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford, Hyundai and Skoda. Manufacturing of two-
wheelers is dominated by the companies TVS, Bajaj Auto, LML, Kinetic, Yamaha and Hero
Honda. The Indian auto sector has been experiencing high growth for quite some time. By 2020,
auto component industry set to grow to US$ 113 billion. The industry has shown a growth rate
with CAGR of over 16 percent in the current year. It is anticipated that India's share of global
auto parts' business would rise from 0.9 percent (2008-09) to 2.5 percent by 2015.The auto
component industry has established sophisticated engineering skills, production lines, a thriving
domestic sector and a competitive cost structure.
According to Bajaj Auto, the year 2012 will be its year of investment. The company is
developing all new breed of its Pulsar and Discover range of motorcycles which will be launched
in the second half of the financial year 2012-2013. Bajaj Auto will also launch Boxer, KTM
Duke 125 or 200c in the same year. Boxer will be targeted to the rural customers where Hero
Honda Splendor is market leader. Boxer will be positioned as utility motorcycle. The reason
behind re-launching Boxer is rural segment is not ready for high priced Discover brand. Besides
this, Bajaj Auto will launch its much awaited small car with the amazing price of 1,50,000 and
30 Km/liter for the Lower income group. The new Pulsars and Discover are being developed on
a new platform and will have next generation technology. After the launch, Bajaj Auto expects
its market share to increase up to 40 – 50 % from current 27% in the domestic market.
The new range of bikes is a part of the company’s target of almost doubling its sales to 7-8
million units from 5 million units a year at present. The company hopes to increase its global
presence to 30% from current 10% within next 3-4 years
The business will continue on the strategy to focus on Brand building. Growth in exports for the
Company for the financial year 2012-13 in both motorcycles and three wheeler segments is
facing some headwinds due to international events such as substantial rise in import duty in
Srilanka, trade restrictions imposed in Argentina, Dollar trade embargo in Iran. In FY2012, Bajaj
Auto sold over 3.83 million motorcycles in India and abroad. In doing so, it grew sales by 13.2%
over FY2011, which was lower than in the previous two years.
REFERENCES
Http://Www.4psbusinessandmarketing.Com/12012012/Storyd.Asp?Sid=5079&Pageno=1
Http://Articles.Economictimes.Indiatimes.Com/2009-12-10/News/27660662_1_Rahul-
Bajaj-Scooter-Production-Bajaj-Auto
Http://News.Oneindia.In/2009/12/10/Bajaj-Scooters-Production-End-Focus-
Motorcycles.Html
Http://Online.Wsj.Com/Article/
Sb10001424052748704240504574585350015600122.Html
Http://In.Reuters.Com/Finance/Stocks/Companyprofile?Symbol=Baja.Bo
Http://Www.Bajajauto.Com
http://www.fadaweb.com/itwi_june12.htm
http://automobiles.mapsofindia.com/bikes/kawasaki/
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-04/news/32537392_1_ktm-bajaj-
auto-scooter-sales
http://www.surfindia.com/automobile/industry-growth.html
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4589