It’s a news-heavy day from Bajaj Auto as the company’s Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj has been outspoken about his product portfolio. Bajaj confirmed that a 125cc Pulsar is not in the making. He also revealed that the new Pulsar range and Avenger series would be unveiled in 2020, which is when the new emission norms are scheduled to come into effect.
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During the same interview, Rajiv Bajaj hinted that the company is working on a new motorcycle brand that will compete in the 125cc segment. Bajaj confessed that the falling sales of the Discover brand in the premium commuter segment had left a big hole in the company’s strategy. Even the V12 did not achieve the targets set by the brand. In fact, not a single unit of the V12 was sold in July 2018 while the year-on-year sales of the V15 tumbled by 78 percent.
He also added that there are no plans to stretch the Platina range into the 125cc segment as it will dilute the brand. This statement comes as a surprise as a unit of the Bajaj Platina 125 was spotted during road tests back in August 2018. The test mule donned a 125 badge on the rear panel and came equipped with a front disc brake.
Speaking about the potential in the 125cc segment, Bajaj said:
We are missing out on mid segment 125cc, I think it’s about 2.5 lakh bikes a month. It’s not small. If you have 20 percent share there, it gives you a considerable number. Certainly we are missing out on a big slice and we have to make up for that with a new brand which we are working on... We are not vacating this 125 segment. We are working on a new product and will cover it up.
Details are minimal at the moment as Rajiv Bajaj did not talk much about the new motorcycle brand.
Bajaj's current 124.5cc single cylinder, four stroke, air cooled single cylinder, SOHC, DTS-i BS-IV engine is tuned to deliver 11 PS of power @ 7500 rpm and 11 Nm of torque @ 5500 rpm. With new emission norms scheduled to come into effect from 2020, Bajaj may pull out an all-new 125cc motorcycle.
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While sales of the 125cc Bajaj motorcycles slide, the 125cc Honda CB Shine was the third largest selling motorcycle in the Indian market in FY2017-18. It was the most sold 125cc motorcycle in the Indian market in FY2017-18, registering a year-on-year growth of over 27 percent.
[Source: ForbesIndia.com]
